Smiles are so critical to people's perception of others that some cameras now come WITH smile detectors. I think this is a bit bizarre, but smiles ARE important. So this set of images explores degrees of smilosity. Smilization. Smilism.
Bottom Line: Smiles are just one expression, but important, and a forced smile is worse than none.
Specs 105mm, f13, large soft box to left, reflector to right
Left
Right
She is not smiling; she is as close to a neutral expression as we could get. This image is like the control in a scientific study — it gives you something to compare against.
Beginnings of a smile. If you scroll back and forth between this and the No Smile image the difference is hard to spot. But if you look at both images side by side, it is entirely different: just the tiny subtle change of muscle tension can reveal the difference between rejection and acceptance.
Teeth. She is showing teeth, which is a clear point of departure. Keep in mind that lots of people are concerned about their teeth and will resist showing them. Luckily, you CAN get a convincing smile without teeth.
Broad smile. Not subtle. It is odd that when smiling broadly most people's eye close a bit, which is normally a negative sign, but in context it is seen as part of the smile.
Big smile. This is getting close to laughter, which is a whole other thing, and most people look happy when laughing, but also weird and distorted.
Grin. This is the kind of smile/grin that can cause your face to hurt if you keep it up for too long. Note that Nicole's upper lip pretty much disappears when she smiles really hard, which makes her big smile look a little scary.
Huge smile. Probably too much smile, particularly if it comes in a posed situation. If I had caught her smiling this much in an unguarded moment with friends it probably wouldn't look quite so scary.
Fake smile. The smile you get when someone really doesn't want to smile, but gives you one under duress. You can compare the muscles in this versus the real smiles, but you can tell it's fake. Wonder if the smile detector cameras can tell a fake smile?
She is not smiling; she is as close to a neutral expression as we could get. This image is like the control in a scientific study — it gives you something to compare against.
Beginnings of a smile. If you scroll back and forth between this and the No Smile image the difference is hard to spot. But if you look at both images side by side, it is entirely different: just the tiny subtle change of muscle tension can reveal the difference between rejection and acceptance.
Teeth. She is showing teeth, which is a clear point of departure. Keep in mind that lots of people are concerned about their teeth and will resist showing them. Luckily, you CAN get a convincing smile without teeth.
Broad smile. Not subtle. It is odd that when smiling broadly most people's eye close a bit, which is normally a negative sign, but in context it is seen as part of the smile.
Big smile. This is getting close to laughter, which is a whole other thing, and most people look happy when laughing, but also weird and distorted.
Grin. This is the kind of smile/grin that can cause your face to hurt if you keep it up for too long. Note that Nicole's upper lip pretty much disappears when she smiles really hard, which makes her big smile look a little scary.
Huge smile. Probably too much smile, particularly if it comes in a posed situation. If I had caught her smiling this much in an unguarded moment with friends it probably wouldn't look quite so scary.
Fake smile. The smile you get when someone really doesn't want to smile, but gives you one under duress. You can compare the muscles in this versus the real smiles, but you can tell it's fake. Wonder if the smile detector cameras can tell a fake smile?
