Take a look at these three images.
Which would you select as most appealing, and why?
(I have a theory and am curious to know if it has any relevance to consensus reality.)
I like the one on the far right. The center one looks washed out, like the person is sickly pale. The first one is a subtle difference, I think from the third, a little too red maybe, or deeper shadows.
I like the far right…
I prefer the one on the left. The one in the middle looks too pink, and the one on the right looks too airbrushed.
I also prefer the one on the left. The others are too hazy and plasticky, and both of their jawlines seem to have melted into thin air.
Edit: on a second look, I noticed that the real reason I dislike #2 is that the lines around the eyes are missing, making the smile look fake.
I don’t really like any of them; given their particular flaws, I’ll take the one on the left. The one in the middle does look washed out; the one on the right is fuzzy and lacks contrast, especially in the lower half of the face. The one on the left, while inordinately revealing of flaws that I assume were supposed to be concealed by the retouching, is the only one that doesn’t irritate me. I do like what the picture on the right does for the eyes – they look larger, livelier, and less puffy – but the sharpness and contrast in the picture on the left is viscerally satisfying in a way that makes a few lines and blemishes quite tolerable.
A careful retouch, with lines and blemishes individually treated, and the treatment on the right restricted to the eye area, would be far better.
The one on the left is best. The middle one is too gray and sickly-looking, while the one on the right is obviously airbrushed.
The one in the middle would be the best if it had proper brightness/contrast and color. Otherwise, the one on the left.
The left or center. The right looks too overtly processed. The center is only slightly idealised but meanwhile got a little bland.
I like the far right. The middle one looks odd with the eyes, and the one on the left is just kinda… worn out (Ie: I know the left feels most natural, but I prefer the obviously manipulated right one because it looks better).
The far right one looks too airbrushed–he has plastic skin now and it’s a little creepy. Middle one is a weird color. Left is OK. Would prefer larger images to study.
Without reading the answers, the left one (#1)
The middle one looks greyish and the far right one looks “baby-faced” in a fake looking sort of way.
Right, left, center.
After reading the thread and looking again–it’s the eyes on the right which really make the picture for me.
Left, center, right. The center and right photos are too fake looking.
Left looks the best although I also prefer the eyes on the right.
I like the one on the left. The right is overdone.
The left one is a lot better.
The one on the left, because it’s the most natural. The middle one is too grey/washed out, but it’s still pretty good. The one on the right is overly airbrushed and mildly creepy.
Ditto.
I’m replying without looking at anyone else’s responses.
I found the first one (the one on the left) the most appealing. The smile looked more genuine to me because of the depth of the nasolabial folds.
Left is best. The far right is an obvious airbrush and the middle one is too pale.