Eyes and Smile

[smoke665]

Read a couple of articles recently about reading the "tells" on a true smile versus a fake one. The three major points gleaned from the article were in a true smile there are muscles that force the eyes closed, the same muscles pull the bottom lip up preventing the bottom teeth from showing, and true smiles produce crow's feet. I suppose a paying customer always dictates how the they wish to be depicted, but not having any such restrictions makes me free to re-evaluate how I shoot. I guess this is why I prefer photographing children as they have no preconceived notion as to how they should look, making it easier to capture the emotion, not just the reflection. Now to figure out how to do this on an older subject.

 

[wfooshee3 2]

My stepdaughter had this hideous "taught" smile that she learned somewhere that was just a shaping of the mouth, and involved nothing else on her face. It was more of a grimace, but it was all you could get from her when taking pictures of family events. When shooting candids, people just sitting around having fun, the difference is astonishing, but she claimed to see no difference.

Beauty pageant contestants, dancers, sometimes gymnasts are notorious for the posed smiles that have absolutely nothing behind them. Might as well get a mask.

 

[smoke665]

It seems that there is a double standard between the sexes. Wrinkles (crows feet) on a man adding character but not so on a woman.

 

[tirediron]

It seems that there is a double standard between the sexes. Wrinkles (crows feet) on a man adding character but not so on a woman.

Yep!