Could be modern lenses, filters, and/or touchups (i.e. photoshop) that distort images in a (typically) flattering way and distort some people's perception of "n

Could be modern lenses, filters, and/or touchups (i.e. photoshop) that distort images in a (typically) flattering way and distort some people's perception of "normal" photographs, since it's all pretty ubiquitous. Cell phones apply all sorts of processing effects, starting with the lense.