The OkCupid blog has a pretty cool series of posts analyzing all sorts of data that they collect in anonymous ways. This time around they analyzed photos taken and tried to figure out trends behind what makes people attractive. Some of the more interesting things:
- Panasonic cameras are better than Nikon,
- Interchangable lens cameras (like digital SLRs) are better than basic point & shoot, which are better than camera phones.
- iPhone users have more sex,
- Flash makes you look older (obvious, harsh lighting is nobody’s friend).
- Shallow depth of field is a good thing,
- Late night, late afternoon photos are better.
In conclusion they say:
It’s actually not that hard. Use a decent camera. Go easy on the flash. Own the foreground. Take your picture in the afternoon. Then visit the nearest Apple store. Done.
Very interesting stuff. It’s a great example of what can be done with a large set of data. I’m guessing somewhere deep within Google and Facebook are a group of people doing even deeper analysis with a much larger set of data.