We judge books by their covers. It's in our nature.

I want to make clear that this post is in no way political, nor does it represent my views on American politics.

A post popped up in my newsfeed this morning containing two images and a link to a San Fran tv station. (Keep in mind I'm based in Sydney Australia and have no clue what's happening in the bay area) Anyway, I was intrigued and clicked on the link. It was a news article about the results of the race for DA in the San Francisco bay area.

This got my juices flowing. As an outsider with no knowledge of the contenders' backgrounds, social status or political history, I began to judge the two contenders by the only thing I was given, their photograph.

Looking at the two photographs side by side, my mind was immediately made up. I'm in, and I'd like to meet the lovely lady on the right. Why is that; I asked myself, and my brain began to analyse their faces and think as to why they opted to choose these two photos as press photos.

Let's see;

The lady on the right:

I see a mother figure, sympathetic; she radiates confidence and approachability. She seems to have a strong personality able to protect me and others and a voice that is heard and respected. She also dresses well and put some thought in how she would like to represent herself to the public.

The guy on the left:

I see a cheesy guy on the left who did meth as a kind (it's not true but its where my brain went to in the first 2 sec looking at the image) Why he hell is the image tilted?

It appears as the picture was taken after a press briefing; don't even start me on his oily skin. Clearly, this was more or less a rushed photoshoot. He does not look as trustworthy and experienced as the lady on the right. He just seems a bit creepy.

I know this sounds extremely harsh, but it made me think:

We all judge a book by its cover; it's human nature.

We subconsciously judge new faces in only 100 milliseconds (that's about as long as it takes for a hummingbird to flap its wings…once).

That means our pictures give all kinds of signals about us: our personality, our competence, trustworthiness and likability.

It's the first thing someone sees, and this means that it's so important to make sure that what they think of you is accurate and positive from the outset.

Why choose these specific photos to be shown on TV? (over and over again)

I did some digging and found more flattering photographs of the guy on the left and less flattering pictures of the lady on the right.

Someone on the lady's team did their homework.

So... Why choose these photos to be shown on TV?

Let me know in the comment section below.

No matter the outcome, we wish both parties the best