Smile! You’re on facial analysis camera

As a wannabe ace photographer who has yet to figure out how to use all the snazzy functions on my Canon PowerShot G6 or register for that iPhoto class I've been meaning to take, I pay close attention to cool new technology that could make my point-and-click candid shots look like Ansel Adams' works of art.

Digital imaging software provider FotoNation is trotting out two new extension modules to its FaceTracker product line, both of which are slated to debut at the 2008 Photo Marketing Association Convention Jan. 31-Feb. 2 in Vegas. The company, whose website proclaims that more than half of digital cameras sold worldwide include its technology, announced licensing availability for a shutter mode that detects smiles in portrait photos taken by digital cameras and camera phones. Dubbed SmileCheck, this imaging software monitors a camera's video preview stream, seeking out faces within the frame and then identifying facial features associated with smiles. When the camera's trigger is pressed, the shutter won't snap the pic until everyone's looking amused (or perhaps bemused) at the camera, presumably after the photographer's usual "1, 2, 3, [insert cheesy word or phrase]" attempt at smile-inducing humor.

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