Natural Smiles | A Photographer's Education

It's May and with the departure of the rain, return of the flowers, and the start of wedding season (and outdoor portraits in this lovely weather) we decided to share a trick we've been practicing on ourselves for awhile now: how to get a natural smile (and laugh!).We've all seen them...those photos where it looks like our smile is forced. We are trying to shove happiness towards the camera lens and our eyes just look dull.What if you're alone taking a selfie or your photographer isn't bringing the juice? How do you achieve a real, natural smile?Simple. (And ridiculous.)Have you ever played the laughing game? You lay down and place your head on someone's stomach and that person has their head on someone else's stomach, etc. until everyone is in a circle with their head on another's stomach. The first person begins a fake laugh and because it makes their partners' head bounce up and down that person begins to laugh, setting off a chain reaction. Laughing does just that, it's contagious. Our tip this month uses the same principle.The next time someone is taking your photo or you're taking a quick selfie and your smile looks fake, push out a little giggle (even if it's fake), because chances are it sounds so funny or you feel crazy ridiculous that you will actually end up with a genuine laugh shortly after and you'll have a real, natural smile that lights up your eyes and shows true emotion. (Your photographer might also think you're weird, but most likely they'll laugh with you too and you've just set off a chain reaction of happiness.)So start that ripple effect, laugh a little more, smile a bit bigger and hopefully next time you take a photo you'll show you're happiest self. ~Erik & Marissa

Left vs. Right Examples

On the left we each gave the camera a smile. On the right we laughed (yes, it was certainly fake) and got a second, more genuine smile.