# Type and smiling for photos



## matilda (May 21, 2009)

Does your smile come naturally?

Forced? goofy?

Would you say that your smile reaches your eyes?


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## Arioche (Aug 5, 2009)

Depends on the persona I happen to be in. But I usually don't because my smile isn't exactly charming. :tongue:


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## jochris (Jul 18, 2009)

I used to never smile for photos, but now I do all the time because I discovered the secret to knowing how to smile naturally for a picture.


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## HollyGolightly (Aug 8, 2009)

If I have to smile it has to be with my mouth closed. I hate my teeth. I had to wear a brace for a long time and even though they are straight now I still feel self-conscious.
I smile on most my photos, but it's only a little smile


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## Mikbert (Jul 19, 2009)

If it's not a natural smile, I never smile on photos.

I look quite angry actually


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## Marino (Jun 26, 2009)

I naturally smile without my teeth. 










My smile looks fake even if it is genuine so it doesn't really make a difference in photos. :crazy:


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## SummoningDark (Mar 10, 2009)

I hate being photographed and I'm not good at smiling, so I hardly ever smile on photos and if I do it's a forced smile at best.


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## jochris (Jul 18, 2009)

Smiling cheers people up. (Profile picture on PC.)









(There is a chance I may have just been happy with my accomplishment of having buried both my feet in the sand.)


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## Harley (Jul 5, 2009)

I smirk.
But sometimes, I do a big cheese cheshire type of grin.


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## skycloud86 (Jul 15, 2009)

My smiles are usually very small and sometimes can look forced/fake.


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## Stoic (Aug 7, 2009)

I hate having my picture taken and when I do I don't smile. If they try to make me smile by saying something ridiculous I always make sure to close my eyes so they feel the picture is ruined!


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## matilda (May 21, 2009)

I try to make up for smile-unnaturalness by goofy grinning. :crazy:


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## WolfStar (Aug 18, 2009)

I've got no problem in giving a natural smile. I'm not opposed to pictures and I don't see why I should fake a smile. Not worth the effort. Easier to just be happy.


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## snail (Oct 13, 2008)

I was expecting this to be a poll about I vs E, since my personal guess would have been that E types are more likely to smile regardless of T or F.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Liontiger (Jun 2, 2009)

snail said:


> I was expecting this to be a poll about I vs E, since my personal guess would have been that E types are more likely to smile regardless of T or F.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Mm, agreed. Though this poll has proved useful in that it appears there is no real correlation between T/F and difficulty smiling. Finding no correlation can be just as useful as finding correlation.

I, for one, don't have difficulting smiling for pictures. Whether I actually like doing it, on the other hand, is another matter...


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## jochris (Jul 18, 2009)

WolfStar said:


> I've got no problem in giving a natural smile. I'm not opposed to pictures and I don't see why I should fake a smile. Not worth the effort. Easier to just be happy.


Exactly. That's what I do. roud:


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## firedell (Aug 5, 2009)

I don't like smiling, because I hate my smile.
I don't think my lips match the littleness of my teeth.


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## Scruffy (Aug 17, 2009)

I can do a bitch'in smirk fake or real, I can smile in most photos and look alright.

I love natural smiles though.


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## snail (Oct 13, 2008)

I smile when I'm happy, and having my picture taken by someone other than myself makes me too insecure to be happy unless I am caught unaware or specifically instructed to fake it. My fake smiles look fake, and I hate them. I should just refuse, because it feels inauthentic. Too bad it is socially inappropriate to glare at the camera rebelliously.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Siggy (May 25, 2009)

I always smile when photos are taken. I have a great, naturall grin. Sometimes its a little goofy; the actress in me.


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## Nomenclature (Aug 9, 2009)

I hate open-mouth smiles, even though people tell me I have naturally perfect teeth. It just feels so unrelaxed. And everyone knows you look better in pictures if you're relaxed.


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## mcgooglian (Nov 12, 2008)

I don't like being forced to be in pictures and I definitely don't like smiling in them unless the smile's natural.


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## Sybyll (May 9, 2009)

I either do this half-smile-thing, or else I smile really widely (which, in my own opinion, makes me look insane). The smile almost never reaches my eyes. I never know what to do with myself, so most of the time I look sort of bored or angry in photos. Or so I'm told.


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## Andrea (Apr 20, 2009)

my eyes waver, and my smile feels tense
it's hard but i try.


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## Alysaria (Jul 7, 2009)

I always end up with the big, goofy fake smile that just makes me want to burn the picture. ><


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## Andrea (Apr 20, 2009)

school pictures today. i couldn't look at the camera any longer than a second, let alone hold a smile.


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## matilda (May 21, 2009)

snail said:


> I was expecting this to be a poll about I vs E, since my personal guess would have been that E types are more likely to smile regardless of T or F.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I kinda thought it might have something to do with Fe. How Fe internalizes emotions easily enough (here, on cue). Or is that Fi? I'm all confused now :crazy:


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## kdm1984 (Jul 8, 2009)

Internalizing emotions is Fi (the "i" for introversion); expressing them is Fe (the "e" for extroversion).

As INFJ, Fe is my secondary function, and it comes out readily when I am with the people I love (dear one says I smile constantly around him - and I am sure I do; he rules :laughing. Still, for photos, I find it hard to smile (note the avatar, lol). My dominant function is Ni, which gives a very stoic look. When INTJs and INFJs are firmly planted in their comfortable Ni function, they have a similar expression. ENFJs and ENTJs can also have that Ni look, but my dad (ENFJ) and late brother (ENTJ) seemed to smile more readily in their photos. So, I'd go with snail and say the greatest smiling correlation seems to be with extroversion.


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## Kevinaswell (May 6, 2009)

.....smile?


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## BehindSmile (Feb 4, 2009)

I hate my smile, I get a double chin and my cheeks are so puffy it causes my eyes to pretty much not exist.


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## knght990 (Jul 28, 2009)

Alysaria said:


> I always end up with the big, goofy fake smile that just makes me want to burn the picture. ><


I want proof, show pictures. :laughing:



No smile. My smile muscles have atrophied. I try, but nothing happens. Too many emoticons, not enough real smiling i guess.


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## Raphy (Aug 27, 2009)

I think the results have more to do with the predominance of I over E than the differences F/T


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## Kastor (Aug 28, 2009)

Relatively easy. I used to smile like this as a kid = XD. Squinty eyes and all >>;
Not so much these days. MOre like = :]

It all comes naturally.


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## Bonne (Aug 19, 2009)

I smile a lot, just in general, but if I have to hold a smile for a photo, it looks really strained and uncomfortable. Also, I seem to blink rather a lot, so getting a pic where I've got my eyes open's a bit of an achievement.


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## OrangeAppled (Jun 26, 2009)

*Does your smile come naturally?*

No....I don't smile much naturally. I had to learn to seem more friendly.

* Forced? goofy?*

Both! Especially in a photo. I avoid smiling in photos because I just look stupid.

* Would you say that your smile reaches your eyes?

*I would say that I actually smile more with my eyes than my mouth. My eyes are very expressive, and it's much more natural for me to emote through them than my face.


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## de l'eau salée (Nov 10, 2008)

I smile in most photos taken of me by others. I both like and dislike it at the same time. When looking back at the picture and you see yourself smiling, it can give a false impression of that picture and deceive you into thinking you were actually having a great time at the moment when you really weren't. Showing your natural feelings to pictures, in my opinion, is the way it should be...it lets you experience that picture how it was rather than how it could have been. I get sort of depressed looking back on pictures of me smiling, it makes me long for that time. However, I have come to realize that I have never really enjoyed my life and that the desire to go back in time is only because of the false image the picture of me smiling gave off. 

Sorry for the rambling, I hope that makes sense .


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## Fanille (Sep 3, 2009)

My natural smile is with a closed mouth, but I usually don't pose for pictures like that because I end up looking weird. When I try to force an open-mouth smile, though, it feels uncomfortable if I try to hold it too long (oddly enough, I don't have any reservations about showing my teeth in public; it's more that the muscles in my face don't like to stay in that position for too long).

More recently I have been making more goofy faces, since they usually make for a better picture than any fake-smiling (or not) that I would do.


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## Phoenix (Sep 4, 2009)

The smile is forced in my case. I hate pictures.


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## asbreathingflows (Jul 19, 2009)

jochris said:


> I used to never smile for photos, but now I do all the time because I discovered the secret to knowing how to smile naturally for a picture.


Do tell :happy:


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## totefee (Aug 6, 2009)

When I was younger, I would never smile in pictures. I'd say I smile in a lot of my pictures, but not all of them. My smiles are fake. I force myself to smile. Other times I don't smile, but that's because I choose to. Smiling in pictures has not come easily to me, but pictures just look better if you're smiling.

According to the poll, it seems that both Feelers and Thinkers find it hard to smile. I think it's mostly because people don't like their smiles.


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## William I am (May 20, 2011)

matilda said:


> Does your smile come naturally?
> 
> Forced? goofy?
> 
> Would you say that your smile reaches your eyes?


Naturally? Yes. Very goofy and good natured. It always reaches my eyes.


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## Psychophlegmatic (Apr 29, 2012)

Smiling...well it depends on the situation or the person. I've never actually had anything to smile about...but a few people are able to bring out my smile. When I smile, it is usually a quaint, coy smile..but I also have a goofy, childish smile. It depends. Normally my face is expressionless, which is why people label me as "schizoid". But, like I said...I only smile around certain people...


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## Iustinus (Jun 13, 2012)

Only when forced by family members.


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## Impermanence (Apr 24, 2012)

My smile is usually forced. For one thing, I am not photogenic and I hate my smile. Secondly, if I am genuinely happy and smiling then people are usually not taking a picture of me in that moment.


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## cityofcircuits (Nov 8, 2010)

Smiling for photo's usually always feels forced and generic. Even if the photo says 'nice smile/he's happy' I may not actually be feeling anything close to 'happy' or whatever. Meh....


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## Aelthwyn (Oct 27, 2010)

As a kid in pictures I used to squint my eyes and grin as huge as I could while sticking my chin out. Then I went through a phase where I would just make a small closed-mouth smile, not because I didn't like my teeth I just rather like subtle smiles better. Now it sort of depends on my mood, but generally I have trouble smiling for cameras just because my face starts to feel stiff before they ever take the picture. I can smile genuinely, but then it becomes one of those fixed-gritted-teeth smiles and feels fake, even if it still looks okay. Also, I'm not going to make myself look giddy if I'm not actually giddy in this context. Sometimes a big grin is in order, sometimes a slight smile seems more appropriate for the company or the moment. I've always been a fan of serious (think antique photos) and more candid shots anyways rather than the 'say cheese' kind.

I kind of wonder if this has a little more to do with E vs I because I think a lot of Introverts don't like attention - which getting pictures taken of you falls under - so they are less likely to be genuinely happen at the moment of having their picture taken, as well as perhaps being a bit less openly expressive of how they feel so they may appear a lot more bland than they are.


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## Choice (May 19, 2012)

I've been forced to smile my entire life. You look through the photo album, and I'll have the most convincing fake grin outta my family. Well usually. Screw smiling. Polite, rigid, glassy eyed polite ones are only half creepy and make me hate myself for about 10 seconds. 

Now I'd be too busy making funny faces.


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## PlacentaCake (Jun 14, 2012)

Linesky said:


> I myself am an INTP but can be very smiley on a picture if I'm in an exuberant mood.
> At other times if I'm let's say preoccupied in my own mind I smile less easily when a picture is taken but have learned to put it on Automatic most of the time.


I find that I don't know what to do during a picture, so I'll make a cheesy grin or silly face. That is my "automatic". I've learned over the years how to force a smile, but sometimes you can see the hatred behind. I hate forced smiles. I hated being forced to smile in a picture. What is that? "Ok everyone! Get together and SMILE!!!" :shocked:That is not my style. I think I am too independent for forced pictures, lol. 

On the other hand, if I really like the people/person that is taking the picture, I'm allllll smiles. :3


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## PlacentaCake (Jun 14, 2012)

Also, this thread is fascinating! Hearing how everyone smiles... hehehe the social scientist in me is coming out. WAH hahahah. :laughing:


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## Falhalterra (Apr 24, 2011)

I used to fake my smiles as a kid because I used to really hate having pictures taken of me without my full consent, and it's still a little true today, but now I smile like I actually mean it. I prefer to keep my mouth closed though. Even with my two front teeth not spaced out anymore, my teeth-smile still looks horrible to me. lol


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## Sayonara (May 11, 2012)

Ya know, that's the only consistent physical trait people say they like about me, my smile.

And yet you'd be hardpressed to find a picture in which I'm smiling. I hate pictures in general so I find it extremely hard to.

Otherwise I'm not all that shy in revealing it.


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