It’s official: selfies definitely make your schnoz look drastically larger than it actually is — up to 30 per cent. That’s according to a recent study that compared photos of people’s faces being taken from different distances. But don’t worry you selfie fiend you, there’s an easy way to fix it.
Photo: Sarah Ris
The study, published in JAMA Facial Plastic Surgery, found that most smartphone cameras — particularly the ones on the front of the phone — distort the face when used for a close up. Dr. Boris Paskhover, a lead author on the study, explains:
“Patients, people, even my family have to be aware that if you’re taking a selfie, it’s not really how you look… Selfies make your nose look wider and thicker when it really isn’t, and people like a smaller nose… My fear is that the generation out there now doesn’t know. All they know is the selfie.”
So what can you do? Add some distance between the camera and your face! It’s that easy. The study found that photos taken five feet away had no distortions whatsoever, so the further you can get your phone away from your face the less distortion you’ll get in your pics.
If you’ve got shorter arms, you can always try a selfie stick. (I know…) But otherwise, just flip your phone around and use the other camera instead. It doesn’t have the same wide-angle, fisheye effect that the front camera has. Better yet, if someone’s around, just ask them to take a photo for you.
Problem solved.
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