Reader!
This one research talks about why our smiles appear fake in pictures and how do you get a ‘real’ smile entailing pictures.
What is it?
19th-century French doctor Guillaume Duchenne came up with the concept of two smiles -
The true one i.e. the genuine one which comes from natural joy or feelings of happiness. They also cause your brain to contract a particular muscle around the eye called the orbicularis oculi, which causes the edges of your eyes to wrinkle.
The second type (non-Duchenne smiles) are simply movements of your mouth. The eyes don’t get involved. We often do this out of politeness or when someone takes our picture and tells us to “smile” or to “say ‘cheese.’”. This is the fake one.
Interestingly one very recent study (Okazaki, 2021) found that our faces have adapted to all the mask-wearing, and when our mouths are covered the eye muscles get more involved to better demonstrate our smiles.
[Important]
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What do I need to know?
To be more photogenic, stop focusing on the movements of your mouth, and instead start by changing your brain's emotional activity.
Try looking for genuine joy or humour in the situation. Don’t force yourself to smile. Allow yourself to smile. Think about the fun of the people you’re with or the event you’re at. Laugh at the photographer as they futz with the camera.
Or laugh at yourself and the absurdity of how hard it is to look natural. Changing your emotions changes your brain.
References & Studies: -
https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/prefrontal-nudity/202210/why-your-smile-looks-fake-in-pictures