Photo: pathdoc (Shutterstock)
I am told that I have a great smile when there are no cameras around, but as soon as someone points a lens in my direction, I become a robot who cannot bring up a real grin. I look like I’m being held hostage and being forced to send a false note of consolation home with a ransom note. It’s that “that’s okay” meme embodied in a man’s faint smile, but it doesn’t have to be that way for me (or you).
If you’re like me and look like a clumsy middle school kid on photo day, don’t despair: you can work on having a more natural smile in just a few simple steps.
How to Perfect Your Smile for the Camera
It may seem unnecessary to exercise your face to improve your smile, but there is forty-two muscles on the facewhich gives it one of the most diverse muscle groups in the human body. Some people give the dubious beauty advice that the face can be trained for a variety of purposes, including reversing the aging process (though it little rigorous scientific evidence to back this up).
However, there is a way to train your face to smile more naturally. The most common method is to smile as broadly as possible every ten seconds and then curl your lips. The idea is to give you more control over your facial muscles so that you know what you are doing when the camera is pointed at you.
One way to do this is imparted by Ozarko dentistry:
You want to smile as much as possible with open lips, hold the pose for at least 15 seconds, and repeat 10 times. You will know that you smile broad enough when you feel a slight strain in your cheeks. If you don’t feel anything, try smiling a little wider. If you continue this exercise for several days, you will quickly see how big you can smile.
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Another one advocated by Ozarko Dentistry is called “the rabbit,” but you don’t necessarily have to call it that in public. As always, do something like this in front of a mirror:
Start by smiling as broadly as you can while keeping your mouth closed. It can be helpful to imagine that your smile extends from ear to ear. While smiling, try wiggling your nose until you feel the muscles in your cheek tighten. Hold the pose for about five seconds and repeat 10 times.
Although it doesn’t occupy a huge place in mainstream science, a 2014 article was published in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research has touted the benefits of facial exercises for improving smiles. If anything, get used to having more control when actually being asked to smile instead of trying to bring an authentic grin to life.
How to make yourself smile
The trick with smiling, as anyone with real, human emotions can attest, is to think of something that makes you happy. However, sometimes this doesn’t work because conjuring up pictures of your beloved dog can still make an idiot smile (especially if you are me).
The art of modern dentistry recommends a trick that photographers often use:
One trick is to make an unnaturally grumpy face first. Many photographers use this trick on their clients to get a natural smile. When telling their clients to put on a grumpy / serious face and keep it up, clients can’t resist going back to a natural smile at some point.
There are more psychological tricks that you can try. For starters, you can imagine someone you like or who will make you laugh behind the camera. If I imagined Danny DeVito or someone else amusing me behind the camera, my smile probably wouldn’t be that embarrassing. These psychological components, combined with learning to control the movements of your face, can help you smile a little better on command.
