That's been my experience as well. It must use face detection rather heavily. It also doesn't like photos with no central subject.

Actually there's absolutely no face detection in there !

No face detection? It noticed there was a baby in my picture and commented on the expression: https://keegan.regaind.io/p/XCBCz-9_TrC31c4Opa1mdQ I'm sure there are many different definitions of face detection. Care to elaborate on what kind of face detection it doesn't have?

But it loves contrast, no? Global contrast as well as local contrast.

Normal BW portrait, 8.5:

https://keegan.regaind.io/p/YLzqGGvuSFOv7PwLl8qC8A

Same image with clarity upped to 100% (horrible, IMHO), 8.6:

https://keegan.regaind.io/p/JbMQUyfBTNuoAWveabPCwg

It does like contrast! Hm, the score change is sufficiently low to be within the error bars I'd say. I agree that the upped clarity is less beautiful, but it adds a nice touch of sharpness which Keegan likes a lot as well!

The first one looks too blurry to me and the second too sharp; did you try an intermediate one?

You can do a lot worse with contrast/clarity than that.