[Sydney, June 24. Image via Getty]

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 24:Model Abby Dowse poses during the 'Face of Origin' competition at Star City on June 24, 2009 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mike Flokis/Getty Images)

While we've long been taught that first impressions are basically a function of experience, Professor Helen Fisher of Rutgers University says this isn't the case: according to MRI studies she did, "love" - as defined by science - can be instantaneous. According to The Guardian

The idea that you can infer more from a brief encounter than just sexual attraction is supported by findings from the Perception Lab at the University of St Andrews, which suggests that it may be possible to identify men who are more likely to indulge in short-term flings from facial features alone. In the study, 700 heterosexual participants were shown pairs of photographs of facial images of men and women in their early 20s who held opposing views on relationships. When asked to choose the male faces they felt would be more open to one-night stands, the majority chose correctly. The same faces were also judged to be the most masculine - characterised by a strong jaw, heavy brow ridges, a high forehead and larger nose.

While this sounds suspiciously like phrenology - and as such evokes various vague eugenics associations - Fisher claims that the hormones testosterone, estrogen, dopamine and serotonin can help determine "not only facial features but character types."

She would argue that the physically masculine men in the study above display an openness to one-night stands due to increased prenatal testosterone, and has found that women and men who have a round "baby" face, puffy lips, small nose and big eyes are likely to have had more exposure to oestrogen before birth which, she argues, may make them a better bet for something long-term.

While off the tops of our heads we can think of exceptions to this rule, we suppose we're willing to give it some hypothetical cred. That said, can nature trump nurture in this regard? And what about the fact that, according to these criteria, we're apparently programmed to think of assholes as attractive and "masculine?" Fisher also makes correlations between people's one-word self-description and the pre-natal hormone levels...but surely that kind of response is conditioned by society, upbringing, and the person you're talking to? Here's the thing: in a lab, all this might be true. But as we all know too well, the dating world is anything but controlled...and a lot depends on how bad the last guy was.
Written all over your face [The Guardian]

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[Los Angeles, CA, December 24. Image via Getty.]

Elterman snapped the two getting into the car, and the pic ended up on a full page in Creem magazine. Elterman, who's photographed stars like Bob Dylan, Joan Jett, and Matt Dillon (see some here) says, "Photographers today just do not know what it is like to make a photograph of a real icon. The stars who the magazines run today are totally boring to me."

Elterman continues:

"I came from a family of art collectors and I have always been active in the arts. It dawned on me one day that if you knew your craft was a photographer, you could make a beautiful iconic photograph that would be published in the magazines and could eventually hang in a gallery or at MoMA in New York. There is nothing different from what were are doing today compared with the work of Walker Evans or Helen Levitt. The concept of Paparazzi As An Art Form has been accepted, and we did our first gallery exhibition early this year at the Seyhoun Gallery on Melrose Ave. The response from the public and the media was overwhelming."

Although we don't use Buzz Foto, we often come across "paparazzi" images that are like artwork, with echoes of Hopper, Lichtenstein (yesterday's Snap of Kate Moss), Seurat, Kubrick, and others, including Ms. Levitt (see Naomi Watts, below). We've compiled some of these arty Snap Judgments into a gallery, here:

Brad Elterman: Elevating Paparazzi To An Artform [Mediabistro]
Brad Elterman: Then and Now [A Photography Blog]
Brad Elterman.com
BuzzFoto.com
Related: "Paparazzi As An Art Form" exhibit information

Earlier: Lindsay & Sam: Got Any Fries To Go With Those Shakes?
A Scene From Sam Ronson's REM Cycle
Saint Angelina, Brad & The Twins Hit Cannes
Mary Kate Olsen Gives Chauffeured Shade
Don't Rain On Serena & Dan's (Art) Parade
Madonna: The Material Girl Is In Her Element
Seth Rogen Makes Naomi Watts Want To Hurl
House Elf Seen Sneaking Into Posh Hotel
Jennifer Garner Updates Famous Seurat Painting For Paparazzi
Chelsea Clinton At Starbucks: We Have Soooooo Been There
Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes: The Visual Metaphors Say It All
Redskins Cheerleader Arrives In Iraq, Promptly Tosses Hair
Kate Moss: Between A Rocker & A Drag Queen

Brad and Angelina photo above via Henry Flores/BuzzFoto.com

(All images via Bauer-Griffin.)

(Top photo: Kim and an echidna)

(Kim and emu)

(Kim and...wallaby? Kangaroo?)

(Kim and Reggie Bush python)

(Kim and giraffes)

(Kim and....wombat? Wallarroo?)

(Kim and biggest koala ever)

[Photos via INFDaily.com.]

[Camden, April 24-25; images via Bauer-Griffin, AP

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Earlier: Miss America Contestants Stun Us With Their Talents

[Las Vegas, Nevada; January 24. Images via Splash.]

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[Las Vegas, January 23. Images via Splash]

[All gallery images via AP.]

[New Orleans, December 18. Images via INF.]

[Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, December 8. Images via Flynet]

[New York, October 1. Images via INF]