Many people notice that they look older or more tired when they smile for photos. There are a few potential reasons behind this phenomenon. First, smiling causes changes in facial muscles and skin that can emphasize wrinkles and folds. Second, the camera flash can highlight imperfections. And third, we’re used to seeing ourselves in the mirror, so photos provide a reversed, unfamiliar view. With some adjustments to your posing and photography techniques, you can help minimize the aging effects of smiling.
How Smiling Changes Your Face
When you smile, the muscles around your mouth, cheeks, and eyes contract. This forms wrinkles, lines, and folds in the skin that aren’t present when your face is relaxed. These include:
- Crow’s feet around the eyes
- Folds running from the nose to the mouth (nasolabial folds)
- Marionette lines from the corners of the mouth
- Folds under the eyes
- Forehead wrinkles
In essence, smiling exaggerates many of the facial lines and wrinkles associated with aging. These skin changes are temporary, smoothing out again when you stop smiling. But in photos, they are captured and can make your face look 10 years older!
The effects tend to be more pronounced if you have thinner or drier skin. As we get older, skin loses elasticity and collagen. Smiling stretches thinner skin more tightly over the facial structure, emphasizing lines. Dry skin also doesn’t bounce back as quickly, allowing smiling wrinkles to linger.
How the Camera Flash Factors In
Most portraits are shot with the help of a camera flash. The bright burst of light reduces shadows caused by overhead lighting. But flash photography also highlights every minute detail of skin texture, including fine lines, pores, bumps, and wrinkles. This can make the face look washed-out and aged.
Flash photography is worse for aging skin because the light reflects off dry, crepey skin and flattened wrinkles. The shadows caused by wrinkles are diminished. Meticulously smoothed foundation also looks unnatural and exaggerated.
So when the flash goes off as you smile, it illuminates every fold caused by facial muscle movement. The result is an unflattering portrait that screams “senior photo,” rather than reflecting how youthful you look in person.
The Unfamiliar Mirror Image Effect
When we see candid photos of ourselves smiling, we’re often surprised by how different we look from our mental self-image. Why is that?
We’re used to seeing our faces in the mirror every day. The mirror presents a reversed image to what others see. In photos, we see our true face for once. If there are asymmetries like one crooked tooth or one eye smaller than the other, they suddenly become noticeable. The same goes for wrinkles. What we see in the mirror may have conditioned us to ignore early signs of aging we’d notice on someone else.
So when you see a photo of yourself smiling naturally, the reversed image highlights “flaws” to a greater degree. Your eyes are drawn to wrinkles and lines that aren’t part of your familiar mirrored appearance. And you may judge yourself as looking older than your years as a result.
Posing Tips to Minimize Smile Lines
With some tweaks to your posing and facial expressions, you can reduce the wrinkling effects of smiling for photographs. Here are some tips:
1. Soften the smile.
A huge toothy grin emphasizes every facial movement. Softening to a slight closed-mouth smile relaxes the face. Keep your lips gently closed and tipped up at the corners. Wrinkles will be less pronounced.
2. Direct your gaze upwards.
Looking straight into the camera lens tends to scrunch face skin downwards, contributing to under eye bags and jowls. Tilting your chin down slightly and directing your gaze upwards helps lift facial tissues. Wrinkles smooth out rather than being compressed.
3. Put your tongue to the roof of your mouth.
Strange but true – placing your tongue behind your front teeth relaxes muscles around the mouth and eyes. This helps minimize smile lines around the nose, eyes and mouth.
4. Don’t squint.
Narrowing your eyes can wrinkle the sensitive skin around them. Make sure your eyes are open, with eyebrows slightly lifted. Use cue cards to avoid squinting into bright camera lights.
5. Cushion laugh lines with hands.
If you have prominent nasolabial folds around your nose and mouth, use your hands to gently obscure them. Rest your fingertip below the fold, touching the cheek lightly. Or try casually placing your knuckles beneath your chin.
6. Hydrate skin well before photos.
Dry, dehydrated skin shows lines and wrinkles more prominently when stretched by a smile. Apply moisturizer and gently massage it in before photos for plumper skin and fewer visible wrinkles. You can also mist skin with hydrating spray just before the shoot.
Photography Tips for a More Youthful Smile
Special photography and editing techniques can also lessen the aging effects of smile lines and wrinkles in portraits.
Use diffused lighting rather than flash.
Rather than the harsh spotlight of a flash, soft lighting is more flattering. Set up reflectors, diffusion screens, or ribbons to scatter light evenly. Or bounce flash off a wall or ceiling instead of pointing it directly at the face. Soft lighting minimizes shadows and skin imperfections.
Pose at a slight angle rather than straight-on.
Turning slightly to a three-quarter angle reduces the appearance of wrinkles and lines. The side lighting also adds dimension that flat, head-on lighting lacks.
Take photos from above.
Shooting from a high angle with the subject looking up is more flattering than shooting from below eye level. Looking down accentuates jowls and neck wrinkles, making the face look heavier.
Use retouching software selectively.
Minor retouching can smooth lines around the mouth and eyes for a more rested appearance. But aim for subtle improvements so the character of your face still shines through. Overdone editing just looks fake.
Emphasize eyes over smiles.
A beaming grin isn’t required to capture your personality. Try more subtle expressions like a half-smile with engaged, crinkled eyes to diminish lines. Or take some shots looking directly at the camera rather than smiling.
Home Treatments to Reduce Smile Lines
You can temporarily revive tired, crepey facial skin to minimize wrinkles from smiling. Here are some DIY treatments to try before a photo session:
Hydrating masks
Give your face an intense moisture boost with masks containing hyaluronic acid, glycerin, ceramides, or collagen. Apply 20 minutes before photos for plumper, more line-resistant skin. Rinse off any residue.
Massaging tools
Use jade or gua sha stone facial massagers to improve blood flow and drainage before photos. Concentrate on muscle tension around the mouth and eyes that causes pronounced wrinkling.
Ice cubes
Rub an ice cube over wrinkle-prone areas like crow’s feet and the upper lip just before photos. The cold constricts blood vessels to minimize lines and puffiness temporarily.
Eye masks
De-puff eye bags and smooth crow’s feet with chilled gel eye masks. Apply for 10-15 minutes before makeup for tighter, refreshed skin. Avoid lower eye masks that could trigger smile lines.
Moisturizing primer
Massage hydrating primer into the skin before makeup application. Silicone-based primers fill in pores and fine lines for flawless skin texture in photos. Focus on the eyes, mouth and cheeks.
Long-Term Treatments to Reduce Smile Wrinkles
For long-lasting improvements in facial wrinkles caused by smiling, certain medical or cosmetic treatments can help:
| Treatment | How it Works | Effects |
|---|---|---|
| Botox injections | Temporarily paralyzes facial muscles | Smooths dynamic wrinkles around mouth, eyes, and forehead |
| Filler injections | Plumps up wrinkles and lines with hyaluronic acid gel | Fills in smile lines, lifts cheeks, enhances lips |
| Chemical peels | Removes damaged top skin layers | Improves skin tone, lightens age spots and fine lines |
| Laser skin resurfacing | Removes outer skin layers fractionally | Smooths wrinkles, tightens skin, stimulates collagen |
| Microneedling | Creates micro-injuries to stimulate collagen | Reduces fine lines, brightens skin |
These in-office procedures require several repeat visits and gradual treatments for best effect. Maintenance is needed every 4-6 months for wrinkle reduction and rejuvenation.
Conclusion
Looking aged in smiling photos is very common and not necessarily a sign of poor aging. With a few simple interventions, you can appear as youthful in photos as you feel in real life. Pay attention to flattering poses and lighting. Stay hydrated and use pre-shoot treatments to plump up skin. In the long run, cosmetic procedures can minimize wrinkles if they bother you. With the right techniques, you can smile freely and look your best in photos.