photogenic

[ foh-tuh-jen-ik ]

adjective

1. forming an attractive subject for photography or having features that look well in a photograph:

   a photogenic face.

2. Biology. producing or emitting light, as certain bacteria; luminiferous; phosphorescent.
3. Medicine/Medical. produced or caused by light, as a skin condition.

photogenic

/ ˌfəʊtəˈdʒɛnɪk /

adjective

1. (esp of a person) having features, colouring, and a general facial appearance that look attractive in photographs
2. biology producing or emitting light

   photogenic bacteria

Derived Forms

• ˌphotoˈgenically, adverb

Other Words From

• photo·geni·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of photogenic¹

First recorded in 1830–40; photo- + -genic

Example Sentences

There also are two photographs of the ever-photogenic Venice, which are finely made but risk turning the show into a different kind of story — one penned by culture and history rather than flickers, shadows and forms.

From Washington Post

Read More On OZYFor years, Niinistö’s now deceased, photogenic Boston terrier Lennu was almost a bigger celebrity than the Finnish president himself.

From Ozy

Then you put them in these great scenes, and they’re extremely photogenic.

From Washington Post

Many in the startup ecosystem blame reporters for building up young, photogenic female founders only to eventually tear them down.

From Fortune

Apple is transitioning its computers off of Intel chips and onto hardware developed in the secret—and photogenic—lab we keep seeing during these live events.

From Popular-Science

Mainstream gays want Pride parades to play well in Peoria, with large corporate floats and photogenic participants.

From The Daily Beast

The typically fresh-faced, photogenic 31-year-old actor is sporting a bushy, unkempt, downright Biblical-looking beard.

From The Daily Beast

Outside the walls, and seeping down nearby streets, are dozens of photogenic and thought-provoking visions.

From The Daily Beast

But even setting aside such outrageous rhetoric, abortion and contraception are just not as photogenic as weddings at City Hall.

From The Daily Beast

The film is not unlike Occupy itself—fascinating, intensely photogenic, frenzied, and occasionally maddening.

From The Daily Beast

Enthusiastic over his progress in natural philosophy, he happens to speak of his photogenic studies.

From Project Gutenberg

These early paper pictures, be it remembered, were designated "photogenic drawings."

From Project Gutenberg

Photogenic: a light producing structure; producing a Phosphorescent glow.

From Project Gutenberg

I should also be glad to know by whom it was first applied to photogenic purposes.

From Project Gutenberg

The photogenic cells contain a mass of granules, spherical in the male and short rods in the female.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• attractive
• camera-ready