Camera distance and visible proportions
A 2024 clinical-photography study found measurable midface distortion at short selfie distances across smartphones and short focal lengths.
Read sourcePSL photo guide
A controlled photo does not guarantee a “truer” rating. It reduces avoidable changes in perspective, pose, light, and expression so this photo is easier to measure and repeat.
A repeatable baseline
Use the same simple setup whenever you want to compare results. Consistency between sessions matters more than making the portrait look dramatic.
Use a stable shelf or tripod. Start about 1.2 m / 4 ft away, use a normal lens rather than ultrawide, and set a timer.
Put the lens at the height of your eyes. Look into it with your head upright — not raised, lowered, turned, or tilted.
Face a broad, soft light source. Check that both sides of the face are readable without deep shadow or blown highlights.
Keep both eyes naturally open, brow at rest, lips gently closed, and jaw unclenched. Save smiling photos for a separate comparison.
Show one full face: forehead, brows, eyes, nose, mouth, cheeks, jaw, and chin. Move hair or reflective glasses if they cover those areas.
Turn off beauty mode, reshaping, filters, and portrait blur. Upload the camera original instead of a screenshot or social-media copy.
Do this · avoid that
These drawings show capture conditions, not ideal facial features. A green check means “easier to compare,” not “more attractive.”
Lens at eye level; head straight and level
A nearby wide lens enlarges nearer facial areas
Left/right widths and heights stop being comparable
Shadow hides facial boundaries and detail on one side
Glasses, hair, or a mask can block measured regions
Before you upload
Run through all three groups. If one item fails, fix the setup once instead of repeatedly uploading different photos.
Troubleshooting
Start with the capture problem the interface reports. Changing several variables at once makes it harder to learn what caused the issue.
No face detected
Blur, a very small face, dark exposure, or major obstruction
Use a sharp original with the full face centered and clearly lit
Multiple faces detected
Another person, poster, screen, or reflected face in frame
Crop the scene to one person without cutting through the head or chin
The tool asks for another photo
Head turn, tilt, or camera placed above or below the eyes
Square shoulders to the camera and align lens, eyes, and horizon
One side is hard to read
Side light, backlight, hair, glare, or a deep shadow
Face broad soft light and clear the visible facial outline
A repeat looks unexpectedly different
Distance, lens, expression, crop, or analysis method changed
Recreate the baseline setup before interpreting the result
Why these controls
The recommendations come from facial-photography research, official portrait-quality standards, and general face-detection guidance. They support controlling the input; they do not validate the informal PSL scale.
A 2024 clinical-photography study found measurable midface distortion at short selfie distances across smartphones and short focal lengths.
Read sourceThe U.S. Department of State photo guide calls for a direct, level pose, clear high-resolution image, uniform light, visible face, and an original unedited file.
Read sourceICAO’s portrait-quality report documents how asymmetric light, pose, expression, eye visibility, and occlusion affect machine-readable face images.
Read sourceGoogle’s general face-detection guidance notes that sufficient face pixels, focus, and orientation affect how well facial detail and contours can be read.
Read sourceNo source below establishes a PSL score as objective attractiveness, and none provides an accuracy percentage for this tool.
Practical answers
Yes, but an arm-length selfie is difficult to standardize and can exaggerate nearer features. A timer and a phone placed about 1.2 m / 4 ft away make distance and angle easier to repeat.
No. It is a practical starting point, not a magic threshold. Use enough distance to avoid a very close wide-angle view, then record the same device, lens, height, and distance for later photos.
Use a relaxed neutral expression for a baseline because a smile changes the mouth, cheeks, eyes, and other visible areas. A smiling photo can be useful, but compare it only with another smiling photo.
Keep everyday appearance consistent across sessions. Remove reflective glasses when safe and comfortable, move hair off measured areas, and avoid makeup or filters that digitally reshape feature boundaries. Facial hair can remain, but it may hide part of the jaw or chin.
No. That selects for a preferred image instead of a repeatable baseline. Fix the setup, capture one clear neutral photo, and interpret the result as a bounded reading of that photo.
Use the baseline
The free test shows a broad range together with four photo-based measurement summaries.
Free · no sign-up · one clear photograph