[bmilner]

THE PROBLEM: Everyone knows the "fake smile" people put on in pictures. Humans are pretty good at detecting when a smile is fake. There are microexpressions around the eyes that move when someone is happy, and they don't move when they are just "showing teeth." Real smiles makes the picture connect and make the viewer happy. Fake smiles are off putting and feel stages.

SUGGESTION: Add a slider to enhance the "real-ness" of a smile. Since PP is already sculpting the face, I don't see why it couldn't adjust the eyebrows and muscles near the eyes to enhance the believability of a smile. One might even patent this I say as I know of no other software that does it.

Info about what makes a smile real can be found here:

From Tonya Reiman "A real smile shows in the zygomaticus muscles which pulls the corners of the mouth upward. The muscles surrounding the eyes, orbicularis oculi, begin to squint which causes crows feet to occur at the edges. Also, the eyebrows and the skin between the upper eyelid and the eyebrow come down very slightly. A genuine smile is usually more symmetrical than a fake smile and does not last as long.

A fake smile uses the risorius mucles which pull the lips horizontally apart. The zygomaticus muscles are only used a little bit, to pull the corners of the mouth up slightly. A genuine smile elicits a sense of well-being and enjoyment in the viewer. A fake smile won't produce the same response" (from http://tonyareiman.com/articles/Is_That_...al_or_Fake)

A fake smile test http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/m...ndex.shtml

[admin]

Hi,

That's a really good idea. I'll add it to our list of feature requests for the next version.

Tony

[bmilner]

Very cool. One of the things I've noticed is that since PP hides laugh lines, photos with people laughing or smiling very warmly tend to end up very "flat" and lifeless. I usually try and "restore" in the key laugh lines or smile lines, but that can look artificial.

Most models do neutral or coy expressions, but casual shots of friends tend to be more of the laughing/smile variety. Being able to spice that up and make the images look more emotionally connected would be a HUGELY unique feature.