The Recognizability of Cropped Unilateral Upper Face Photographs

Facial photographs are invaluable medical teaching tools, but patient privacy must be respected. The degree to which unilateral cropped upper face photos are recognizable is not known.

Oculofacial surgeons were canvassed on a societal email to participate in an online study in February 2025. The surgeons were shown 4 famous individuals. Each of the 4 celebrities was presented initially as a cropped unilateral periorbital photograph with an iris mask, then without an iris mask, and then finally as a full face photograph. For each photograph, the surgeons were asked to identify the celebrity and rate how confident they were in the identification.

Eighty-seven surgeons completed the study with a response rate of 62%. Overall, the cropped, unilateral upper face photographs of famous celebrities were correctly identified on average 4.9% of the time, with a mean prediction confidence level of 69 ± 15%. Unmasking the iris did not improve recognition. Mistaken identification of the cropped, iris-masked, unilateral upper face photographs occurred approximately 20% of the time. On average, there was a 16.8-fold increase in recognition of the full face of famous celebrities compared with the cropped unilateral upper face photo.

In the vast majority of cases, the identity of cropped unilateral periorbital photos is not discernible. Notwithstanding, patient informed consent remains mandatory to obtain and use photos for publication.