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Experts reveal tips on how to smile for picture-perfect photos
Many people will be shy when the camera comes out – used to a lifetime on unflattering snaps from closed eyes and double chins to goofy smiles.
But photographers have now shared how to perfect your smile to take the most photogenic snap possible – no matter how you’re feeling.
Around 70 per cent of Brits feel uncomfortable in photos, according to a study by Invisalign this year.
So you’re not alone if you find yourself feeling anxious when a camera is upon you – but luckily, experts from Lafayette photography have revealed how you can achieve the perfect grin.
Whether it’s a group photo, selfie or professional shoot, these tricks will help you smile naturally and feel more at ease the next time a camera is upon you…
Smile with your eyes
Most people in the UK have tried ‘smizing’ in photos. The term, coined by supermodel Tyra Banks, means ‘smiling with your eyes’.
To achieve this, maintain a relaxed facial expression, tilt your chin and slightly squint your eyes.
It might not feel entirely natural, but it’s remarkably effective in enhancing your facial appearance for a picture-perfect smile.
Think happy thoughts
Our minds are powerful.
By simply diverting your thoughts towards things that make you happy – whether it be a person, place or thing, you can boost your mood, reduce stress and create a positive atmosphere around you towards things that make you happy – whether it be a person, place or thing, you can boost your mood, reduce stress and create a positive atmosphere around you.
A recent study by the University of Sussex found that thinking about happy things for just two minutes can reduce stress levels by up to 25 per cent.
This approach ensures no awkward posing or fake smiles; instead, you’ll naturally feel more relaxed, promoting a genuine smile.
Laugh
If you want to create a big, personality-filled smile, try laughing.
This combination of genuine emotion and a well-timed laugh can elevate your smile, making it appear even more radiant and full of life.
Letting out an audible breath pushes air out of your stomach, giving you the added bonus of a tighter midsection.
Clench your teeth
Clenching your teeth before smiling in photos is a technique some people use to create the appearance of a more structured or defined jawline.
This can be particularly useful for individuals who want to emphasise their jawline or give the impression of a more chiselled facial structure in photos.
Around 30 per cent of Brits clench their teeth in photos to try to look more confident, according to a study by Invisalign.
When you clench your teeth, it can cause the muscles in your jaw and neck to tense up, which can temporarily define your jawline and make it appear more prominent.
However, excessive teeth clenching can look unnatural, so clench your teeth only slightly.
Touch your tongue to the roof of your mouth
Rather than relying solely on your teeth for a smile, let the muscles in your face and neck do the work.
Gently pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth triggers a subtle tightening of the muscles in your face and neck, creating a more natural-looking smile.
Practice makes perfect
Smiling in front of the mirror will allow you to move naturally and try different angles and poses that work for you – though taking self-portraits might be more effective as you can also see how you register in the camera.
Some people look better when they smile with teeth, while it’s more flattering for others to smile without teeth. Practice both to see what works best for you.
Keep your chin up
Allowing your chin to point downward can often result in noticeable wrinkles in the neck area – a cause for concern for nearly 60 per cent of British adults.
To achieve a more flattering and youthful appearance, try to create as much separation as possible between your chin and neck.
By elongating your neck and gently jutting your chin forward, you can create a more defined and elegant jawline, which contributes to a more confident look in photos.
Be yourself
While it might sound cliché, the universal trick for achieving the perfect smile in photos is by simply being yourself. Forcing a smile rarely looks good.
The best smile is one that you can comfortably maintain for an extended period, even up to an hour if necessary.
So, the next time you’re about to be photographed, relax your facial muscles, smile with your eyes and don’t be afraid to show your teeth (or not, depending on what feels natural to you).
When you are yourself, your true beauty will shine through, resulting in the most attractive smiles in your pictures.
Raising the Art Rate Needed to Lift the Spirits in Property Development
Paper artist Lisa Lloyd explores the flow of emotions in dazzling new foil block printed sculpture
Paper artist Lisa Lloyd explores the flow of emotions in dazzling new printed sculpture.
Major photography exhibition to open at National Gallery of Victoria this week
Photography: Real & Imagined (13 October 2023 – 4 Feb 2024) is the largest survey of the NGV’s Photography collection in the institution’s history and features more than 270 photographs from the past 125 years to present day.
The exhibition will present some of the most iconic photographs ever captured, alongside recent acquisitions that have not been presented before, with work by leading Australian and international photographers including Man Ray, Cindy Sherman, Wolfgang Tillmans, Gilbert & George and Nan Goldin, and Australian photographers Max Dupain, Olive Cotton, Mervyn Bishop, Polly Borland and Darren Sylvester.
The NGV photography collection holds more than 14,000 works and is the second largest collection area in the NGV, accounting for 16% of the entire collection. Four years in the making, this landmark exhibition interrogates the proposition that a photograph can be grounded in the real world, recording, documenting and reflecting the world around us; or be the product of imagination, storytelling and illusion; and on occasion they can be both.
You can read more about the upcoming exhibition on the NGV website.
NHS worker wins Countryfile competition with elusive boar photo
CountryfileAn NHS worker whose photos of an elusive boar won a place in the BBC Countryfile calendar, says being in nature is her “stress reliever”.
Carol Gadd works from her home in the Cotswolds and says she took up photography as an antidote to her busy life.
Her image Boar To Be Wild, of a boar with her piglets in the Forest of Dean, will feature in the 2024 calendar.
She said being in nature and “capturing special moments” is “important” to her.
“It’s a real stress reliever but it’s much more than that,” she said.
“It’s completely taken over and being out in nature is really important to me.
“When you take a photograph of wildlife that’s something you can study after the event.
“You can look an animal directly in the eye and see their details. I love watching their behaviours.”
She has spent many years recording and watching wildlife in nature and has become extremely passionate about her hobby.
She said she took her winning photograph in March, after searching the Forest of Dean for the secretive and elusive boar that live there for “several years”.
“It was an amazing experience to find them, but you have to be careful around them,” she said.
“It was a mix of trepidation and excitement. We found two females protecting two litters.
“[In the photo] It looks like she’s smiling but she wasn’t happy and made steps towards us. We lowered the cameras and backed off,” she added.
Ms Gadd said she was watching the Countryfile show on TV as the presenters announced the competition and “almost fell off her chair” when they said she had won.
“I really wasn’t expecting to get anywhere,” she added.
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London photographer wins award for Thames images
Julia Fullerton-BattenA photographer has won an award for her recreations of historical and cultural moments on the River Thames.
Julia Fullerton-Batten won a gold prize in the Association of Photographers (AOP) Photography Awards project category for her series Old Father Thames – which reimagines scenes from the river’s storied past.
The Londoner’s images include recreations of Millais’ Ophelia and Waterhouse’s The Lady of Shalott, as well as the 1928 flooding of the Tate Museum and the stranding of a whale in 2006.
Fullerton-Batten said that while setting up her photographs of the 1814 Frost Fair there were up to 100 people at any one time on set, and she had to stand in waist-deep water balancing her camera, laptop and lighting equipment.
Her images depict notable events in the capital, such as 1928 Flooding of the Tate Gallery which marks the time when “unfavourable elements coincided and the river rose rapidly to its highest level ever measured, causing the embankments to be breached”.
As well as causing damage to the then-Tate Gallery, the flooding left 14 people dead and thousands homeless.
In 2006, a juvenile northern bottlenose whale was found swimming in the Thames – the first whale sighting in the river since records began in 1913.
Sadly, the whale died the next day after suffering a seizure while being rescued. Fullerton-Batten’s image imagines the aftermath.
As part of her winning project, Fullerton-Batten also visited Hogsmill River, a tributary of the Thames, for her Ophelia recreation.
Speaking about her win, she said the river’s “significance to British and world history is immense”.
“London is one of the major cities of the world today, but it would not have existed if it were not for the River Thames passing through it,” she explained.
Fullerton-Batten continued: “Still today, the Thames acts as an artery of communication and trade route between Britain and the rest of the world. My own fascination with the Thames has now taken a more concrete form.”
One of the competition’s judges, Eliza Williams, said there had been many entries in the “project” category, and “the quality of work was extremely strong with a wide variety of subjects; everything from sort of documentary to work that verged into art and conceptual work”.
“It made the judging harder, but it’s always good to have to judge between really strong work.”
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Sudarshan Pattnaik creates sand sculpture expressing solidarity with Israel
Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, popular sand artist and Padma Shri awardee Sudarshan Patnaik created a sand sculpture ‘praying for peace’, in solidarity at Odisha’s Puri beach.
Popular art installation at Pappajohn Sculpture Park to be taken down for repairs
In a Facebook post, the Des Moines Art Center said they will provide information about the restoration of the “Panoramic Awareness Pavilion” at a later date.
LODI 2023 : Stories to Discover at the Festival of Ethical Photography – The Eye of Photography Magazine
Photography is a medium, an essential tool for telling and exposing social injustices in the world and for documenting the positive actions taken to combat it: yet images cannot always change our world, they can certainly raise awareness of these issues. The Festival della Fotografia Etica / Ethical Photography Festival, now in its 14th edition, offers testimonies of commitment in 700 images, collected in 20 exhibitions distributed throughout Lodi, with works by nearly a hundred photographers from 40 countries. All the characteristic elements of a photography festival are present, from thematic meetings to portfolio readings, author talks and workshops.
The exhibition program featuring images by international photojournalists is central to the event, starting with the World Report Award, held in Palazzo Barni, with its five sections. Evgeniy Maloletka won the category Master with his reportage The Siege of Mariupol, which tells of the devastation of the Ukrainian city by the Russians. The Spotlight category was won by Bob Miller for the reportage The Last Generation: Zoey’s Dream and Alessandro Cinque is the winner of the Short Story category with Alpaqueros which explores the climate crises and its impact on alpaca farmers in Peru. Gerd Waliszewski won the category Student with Between the Sirens, which depicts the harsh reality of war-invaded Ukraine, where young people try to live their daily lives which are regularly interrupted by alarm sirens; Mohammad Rakibul Hasan won the section Single Shot with the image The Blue Fig, a reflection on global warming. Lodi also hosts the international exhibition of the World Press Photo 2023, with 150 images signed off by major international publications.
The In-depth Analysis Area is dedicated to the project of the non-profit organization Vital Impacts founded by the photographer Ami Vitale, a National Geographic photographer, and journalist Eileen Mignoni. It is staged partly outdoors, in the city’s public gardens, showing some fifty images by environmental photographers who have been recognized in the Vital Impact Grant and Mentoring Program, and partly indoors, in the former Dell’Angelo church. These images are part of a collection that will be offered in the Vital Impact Print Sale from October 2023 to January 2024: proceeds will support the Reteti Elephant Sanctuary in Kenya, the first indigenously owned and managed elephant sanctuary in Africa.
The section A Glance on the World is on at Palazzo della Provincia: created in collaboration with the Agence France-Press, it deals with the climate crisis. Droughts, fires, floods, rising sea levels and melting glaciers: AFP photographers documented the effects and consequences that threaten both wildlife and people.
Since its first edition, the Festival della Fotografia Etica has paid special attention to the use of photography by organizations dealing with socially sensitive issues. The Nonprofit area in the cloister of the former Gorini hospital features four projects: Filippo Venturi for the PSCORE organization with Awakenings, a project that tells the story of the many North Koreans who try to flee the country in search of a better life; the Spaniard Maria Clauss for the NGO Medicos del Mundo with Where Oblivion May Not Dwell, about the victims of the reprisals of the Spanish Civil War; Davide Torbidi for the Camera del Lavoro of Lodi with the project I Will Never Forget What I Witnessed, on the issue of deaths at work in Italy; the project Savour Beauty of the Social Cooperative ONLUS Nuova Assistenza, that transformed some of the most famous works of art into photographs thanks to the operators-photographers and patients who decided to get involved in this collaboration.
Then Elegy from the Po River Valley by the reportagist Gabriele Cecconi, with experience in environmental issues, tells the territory in which he lives. He made a photographic exploration, significant for both the anthropological characteristics of the area and for the water crisis that in 2022 hit northern Italy, with dramatic consequences on the economic and social realities of the area.
In The Lives of Others Area, visitors can delve into the anthropological and cultural variety of peoples, to be discovered and preserved because therein lies the word “humanity” as a universal value. Laura Morton, a freelance documentary photographer based in California, in Wild West Tech, focuses on San Francisco, from the original gold rush to today, when the technology industry has created a modern-day gold rush in the city and Silicon Valley in recent years. Paul Ratje tells about the provinces of Sichuan and Qinghai, in China, where he spent time focusing on modern life on and off the Tibetan plateau, where the younger generations, though bound to the customs of the past, are in search of a modern way of life. Toby Binber has spent many years on the streets of Belfast together with young people who want to break out of the old patterns and live a life as it happens in other parts of Europe today. But they still live in a place where violence and lack of perspectives are pervasive. Lastly, Lukas Kreibig documents climate change in Greenland and its impact on Inuit culture.
Parallel to the Festival FFE – OFF takes place too. It’s a circuit of photographic exhibitions, hosted in shops, bars, galleries and public spaces of the city.
Paola Sammartano
Festival della Fotografia Etica / Festival of Ethical PhotographyDate
26900 Lodi – LO
Italy
www.festivaldellafotografiaetica.it
https://www.festivaldellafotografiaetica.it/mostre-2023-eng/
