How To Smile For Photographs

Sometimes a laugh is the best smile

I wrote this for my photography website, but since this is an issue for just about everyone– not just models– I figured it was worth cross-posting here.

I’ve noticed a lot of people– even experienced models– have trouble smiling for the camera in a way that looks natural. A while back I discovered a simple trick for doing it.

The reason forced smiles look fake is because they’re static. Natural smiles aren’t held in place– your face moves into a smile, and doesn’t hold it the way you so for photographs. In fact, this is the root cause of a lot of unnatural-looking poses– they look fake because you’re holding still, when the pose that you’re adopting is theoretically that of a person in movement.

The solution is not to hold a smile. Instead, force yourself to laugh. This will produce a smile that looks natural because it isn’t static; your face will move as you laugh. The laugh will probably sound fake; however, the smile that goes with it will look real.

This has worked for every model I’ve told to do it. Try it out during your next photoshoot.