Is That What I Look Like?!?
Jim Gaffigan once said, “You ever see a photo of yourself and it kind a ruins your day?”
It might seem strange, but even in our selfie obsessed culture, many of us just never learned how to smile for a photo. Having a weird or unnatural smile is probably the most common cause of disappointment in a photograph. A weird expression can even ruin what would otherwise be a great session.
So what can you do to get that natural smile in your photos? Simple, do what the pros do. Practice.
Smile Like a Pro:
Unless you’re a big fan of Top Model, you probably think being a professional model boils down to just having good looks. As Derek Zoolander aptly pointed out, there is more to modeling than just being really really good looking. The real secret to being a pro model is practice and attention.
Models practice their expressions and poses, and they pay attention and are very aware of what their bodies are doing.
Practice your smile, and be aware of what your body is doing. Then you’ll be able to crack a perfect smile anytime and every time.
How to Practice:
This next part is going to feel a little weird at first, but will become more natural the longer you do it. You’ll also learn a lot about yourself in the process.
Go to a big mirror. The bigger the better.
Now smile.
I bet that felt a little super awkward and maybe looked a little forced.
That’s good. By paying attention anf really seeing how you smile you’re building your body awareness.
Now stay at the mirror and think of something that would normally make you smile. Just relax and let the smile happen. If you need help have someone tickle you or tell you a joke.
Notice how that looks and feels. Pay special attention to how the corners of your mouth lift and how your cheeks lift. A good natural smile works the muscles that give you crow’s feet, but a forced smile doesn’t.
Laugh lines and crow’s feet won’t make you look older when you’re actually laughing and smiling. That is what your face is supposed to do.
These are visual cues that other people pick up on to see that you are genuinely happy. This is why high fashion models always look so serious even if they are smiling. They only engage the muscles that control the corners of the mouth to keep their faces tight.
You aren’t a mannequin. Don’t look like one.
Repeat making a genuine smile and turn your head left and right. Practice just moving the corners of your lips. Then practice just lifting your cheeks. Isolate the muscles that make move those parts of your face.
Really examine how your face moves and what it looks like when you’ve got a genuine smile that you like.
Once you have found a smile you like it will be time to fine tune it.
Teeth or No Teeth?
This is a matter of personal taste.
A good smile, like a good pose, is all about confidence.
Generally speaking, if you don’t show your teeth at all people will think you are not being genuine.
I have crooked teeth and didn’t show them in a smile for many years. My lovely wife finally encouraged me to practice a smile with my teeth. Once I was confident with it, became much happier with how I look in pictures.
When you don’t show your teeth there is also much more focus on the shape of your smile and the quality of your gaze.
A very confident gaze with a soft smile looks very disingenuous. A playful smirk with a very open gaze, however, can really add personality. Even a little teeth showing will almost always make you look warm and happy.
As a general rule it is better to show a least a little teeth in your smile, but a smile doesn’t end there.
The most important thing about a good smile, and the one people often overlook, is posture.
Don’t Slouch!
All this practice is for naught if you don’t have good posture. Your photographer will work on getting you into a good pose, but you have to be able to carry your body in a confident way.
Practice your smile with good posture and while slouching. I bet there was a huge difference between the two.
You don’t want a derpy face. So straighten up your posture. We’ll talk a bit more about posture in another post.
Now go out and show the world your new awesome smile.