Be Picture Perfect with Digital Facelifts

Do your portraits look more like scary mugshots? Tommer Leyvand, from Tel Aviv University, developed a program that will make even the saddest looking girl look like she ought to be a model. 

This "facelift"  or "digital beautification" program enhances any picture by making tiny adjustments to the image until the subject looks more appealing. The method scans a frontal photograph of the face and adjusts symmetry or makes features slimmer without altering the person's face too much.

According to New Scientist blog, the "Software then analyzed the images, measuring distances between facial features and ratios such as that between facial width at eye and mouth level, and the thickness of the eyebrows. It compared these with the attractiveness ratings given by the volunteers to create a set of rules, known as the "beauty function", for assessing whether a face is attractive."

The system will provide magazine editors with another computer tool to give celebrities photos that flawless star quality, but if this software ever gets into our hands, you know online dating is going to take an interesting twist.

Besides, getting a digital facelift is a cheaper and safer alternative to surgery.

Now, I wonder if they'll come up with an algorithm to tweak bodyparts from the neck down. Hello Dr.90101!