Interpupillary distance : face width (Pallett)
Pallett, Link & Lee (2010): raters preferred an interocular distance of ≈0.46 of face width.
How to read it
the pupils are close together relative to face width.
this proportion sits near the value Pallett et al. identified as preferred/average.
the pupils are widely spaced relative to face width.
Reference values by population
| Reference population | Female (mean ± SD) | Male (mean ± SD) | n | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North American White | 0.46 ± 0.03 | 0.46 ± 0.03 | — | Pallett et al. 2010 — Caucasian female faces. Provisional for other groups. prov. |
| East Asian | 0.46 ± 0.03 | 0.46 ± 0.03 | — | Pallett et al. 2010 — Caucasian female faces. Provisional for other groups. prov. |
| South Asian | 0.46 ± 0.03 | 0.46 ± 0.03 | — | Pallett et al. 2010 — Caucasian female faces. Provisional for other groups. prov. |
| African / African diaspora | 0.46 ± 0.03 | 0.46 ± 0.03 | — | Pallett et al. 2010 — Caucasian female faces. Provisional for other groups. prov. |
| Middle Eastern | 0.46 ± 0.03 | 0.46 ± 0.03 | — | Pallett et al. 2010 — Caucasian female faces. Provisional for other groups. prov. |
| Hispanic / Latino | 0.46 ± 0.03 | 0.46 ± 0.03 | — | Pallett et al. 2010 — Caucasian female faces. Provisional for other groups. prov. |
| Not specified — show pooled | 0.46 ± 0.03 | 0.46 ± 0.03 | — | Pallett et al. 2010 — Caucasian female faces. Provisional for other groups. prov. |
Where these numbers come from
Transcribed from the cited anthropometric literature; SDs of ratios are propagated conservatively (independence assumed). Entries marked prov. await line-by-line audit against the primary tables — see the norm provenance note.
Why every value has an error bar
Every value Canthion reports carries a 1σ uncertainty propagated from MediaPipe Face Mesh's published accuracy (3.96% of inter-ocular distance mean absolute error per landmark, Kartynnik 2019). For a typical 300 px inter-pupil photo that is ≈12 px per landmark, which is why small ratios and angles get wide intervals. A number without an interval is a number pretending to be more precise than it is.
References
- Pallett, Link & Lee (2010). New "golden" ratios for facial beauty. Vision Res 50(2):149–154. doi.org/10.1016/j.visres.2009.11.003
- Lim, Abdul Shakor & Shaharudin (2022). Reliability and Accuracy of 2D Photogrammetry: A Comparison With Direct Measurement. Front Public Health 9:813058. doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.813058
Related: how bone-level measurements are taken from a photo · methodology · all insights