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Question: Do compact digital camera lenses distort the face.?

(Posted by: Missy on 2010-03-12 21:18:33)

Is it me, or do digital cameras distort faces. In all the pictures I take the subjects' noses look larger and the faces look thinned our or enlarged. Is this due to the cheaper quality lens? Any suggestions on a decently priced camera that doesn't do this ($100 to $200 range)?

Posted by: Phillip B on 2010-03-14, 15:56:44

Like fhotoace says, step back and zoom in. My current passport photo suffers the same problem as you've found - only another five years for me to live with it :-( The technical explanation is on Wikipedia at [1], and some portrait advice at [2].

Posted by: fhotoace on 2010-03-12, 21:49:09

Only when the face is shot with the lens at the wide angle setting. Most people hold the camera at arm's length and take a shot. This will guarantee that the facial features will be distorted. Portraits must be shot using a medium telephoto lens. No matter what you pay for a camera, shooting your face with a wide angle lens will distort it.