How to get a great expression in a photograph

I am sure we all remember being told to say “cheese” for the family photo on holiday.

Did it work?  More often than not – No.

So how do we avoid looking awkward and stiff or like a deer in the headlights?

These awkward looks come from psychological pressure, your  brain is telling yourself to create a forced look usually with your mouth but the rest of your face is somewhere else.  The rest of you has probably gone rigid too.  You are trying to do something that is essentially fake.

About the cheese thing, it actually sends your mouth in the wrong direction and screws up your cheek muscles.  It also tends to cause you to put your teeth together, this in turn creates tension in your neck and throat.

We might think that there are only two types of smile fake or real. Actually there are many.

A French neurologist/anatomist Duchenne during the 1800’s made observations about the face and facial muscles and identified fundamentally that a fake smile generally uses just the mouth but a real smile also engages muscles around the eyes.  

When this happens the cheeks lift and laugh lines or “crows feet” appear on the corner of the eyes. Also the lower eyelid moves up partially closing the eye a bit like a squint but without the top eyelid, and the eyebrows move down slightly too.

Some of the different types of smile:

The “flirtatious smile”- as in the Mona Lisa. A radiant smile with the mouth but with eyes looking a far and a sideways glance.

The “embarrassment smile”, – smiling with the eyes but not the mouth, and the head tilted down.

The “cruel smile” – when someone is enjoying being angry.

The “miserable smile” – more a smirk, a grin and bear it look.  Like coming second in a major tournament or hiding a true feeling. Usually formed with the mouth and not the eyes.

So what is a genuine smile?

The “enjoyment smile” – using the muscles around mouth AND around the eyes.  It is said to be a  connection coming from sensory pleasure or happiness.   Here is the clue.  Feeling happy is an emotion.

This comes from a number of triggers:

• Our senses (touch, sound, sight, smell etc.)
  
• Experiencing something amazing or magnificent or of course something funny.
  
• Satisfaction from achievement or others achievements.
  
• Feeling connected to others or places.

How do we achieve the enjoyment smile?

The clues are above – triggering an emotion, thinking of, or remembering experiences of pleasure and joy. 

• Something that makes us laugh.

• Something that makes us excited such as an upcoming event like a concert, sporting event or a holiday.
• Something that is achieved like meeting a goal or ambition.
   
• Seeing someone close achieve a difficult accomplishment.  Recovering from an accident or illness.
   
• Hearing or seeing a friend you haven’t seen for a long time.
   
• Seeing a new baby in the family.
   
• A loved one getting married.
   
• Responding to a joke or something silly. 
• Listening to a piece of music causing you to just melt.
   
• Remembering the fragrance of a person or place.
   
• Make a goofy smile.  As you relax it turns into a real smile.

Try one of these next time someone takes a photo of you.

When this all comes together you end up with a photograph that not only looks like you, it “feels” like you.

All you need is to remember a few thoughts, something funny, something that makes you feel proud or an experience that makes you confident like achieving an award or the genuine praise of a trusted friend.

Happy smiling.