Selfies Distort Your Face and Make Your Nose Look Bigger

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Boris Paskhover, MD Rutgers New Jersey Medical School Adjunct Instructor,Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery NYU Langone Medical Center

Dr. Paskhover

Boris Paskhover, MD
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
Adjunct Instructor,Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
NYU Langone Medical Center

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: Patient’s and the general public routinely mention that their nose appears large, especially when they look at photos taken with their phone. I realized that patients in general are taking selfies more often nowadays. In my training, we routinely would tell patient’s not to use selfies as a marker of how they look, and we instead would take a 5ft distance photograph since we knew that is more realistic. I looked through the medical literature, and it appeared to me that no one had thoroughly discussed why selfies are a bad when evaluating the nose. I contacted a colleague at Stanford who has a PhD with interest in computer graphics and we developed a model for the face/nose.

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response: When a camera is placed closer to the face (as in a selfie, approximately 12 inches), the nasal base appears 29-30% wider than if the picture was taken at 5 feet which is closer to the true appearance of the individual. The intercrural distance (nasal tip width) is increased approximately 7% when compared to 5 feet. 

MedicalResearch.com: What should readers take away from your report?

Response: Selfies distort what you really look like. If your concerned about your nasal appearance, take a photograph at standard photographic distance to better judge you appearance. 

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this work?

 Response: Selfies distort what you really look like. If your concerned about your nasal appearance, take a photograph at standard photographic distance to better judge you appearance. 

No disclosures 

Citations:

Ward B, Ward M, Fried O, Paskhover B. Nasal Distortion in Short-Distance Photographs: The Selfie Effect. JAMA Facial Plast Surg. Published online March 01, 2018. doi:10.1001/jamafacial.2018.0009

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Last Updated on March 2, 2018 by Marie Benz MD FAAD