Camera shy: Half of women 'hate' looking at themselves in photographs

It may be the age of social media and digital photography. But British women are so critical of their own face and body, that  almost half 'hate' looking at themselves in pictures, a new study found. Photos now get a wider audience than ever before as people rush to post snaps on Facebook, where they can draw catty comments from all and sundry. It may be fear of criticism that means three quarters of women now avoid appearing in photos for fear of how they will look, according to the research. Indeed, the research, by Macleans toothpaste, found that 36 per cent of brides-to-be feel anxious about their wedding day purely because they know they will be the focus of photographic attention. Of those who do overcome their fear to step in front of the lens, 45 per cent say they hate the way they look in the resulting pictures. It seems the thing women tend to hate most when seeing pictures of themselves is their smile, with 52 per cent keen to avoid the lens for this reason. The second most common complaint is that they always have their eyes closed in snaps, followed by being embarrassed by their outfit. Teeth discolouration (32 per cent), wonky teeth (24 per cent) and 'smile lines' (14 per cent) are the main culprits for female smile-insecurities. However, despite women's hang-ups, a smile is the first thing men are attracted to in a woman - ahead of cleavage or a nice pair of legs. Interestingly, 28 per cent of men actually said they found 'smile lines' attractive. The research also found that men are not seduced by a 'Hollywood' smile, with 43 per cent insisting that naturally white teeth were the most important feature of a smile. Yellowing or stained teeth were the biggest turn off. TV presenter Holly Willoughby's smile proved to be most popular among men, polling 35 per cent of the vote, followed by Cheryl Cole (33 per cent), Katy Perry (17 per cent) and Fearne Cotton (11 per cent).