Smileing

[Kelly Greene]

I went out to the Relay for life with 2 other guys and 4 ladies dress up as our "dates" and together we managed to collect 42$ for the charity despite the cold and rain that plagued the event. Several pictures were taken but I can not find one with me actually smiling. This fact bothers me I was having a good time doing a good dead with people I have known for a long time and I did not manage to smile for even one picture, so my question for the group is how can I learn to smile.

[Miranda09]

Don't be shy and forget that you're posing in front of the camera. If you're happy, then show it! :)

[Karren H]

I noticed that a decade ago.. My wife always said "smile" in photos and I always replied... "I am". Lol. Guys don't know how to smile like girls do.. And girls smile all the time.. At the drop of a hat!! So it took me a long time of practicing to get the fem smile down pat... Now I can't stop smiling... Got lots smile wrinkles to proive it to! Lol.

Practice practice practice...

Met a local crossdresser in drab last summer and he walked up to me and said hi... How did you know it was me??. I recoginized the smile!! :):):)

[kellycan27]

if oyu're ahppy and you know it.. ...clap your hands....lol

[linnea]

I have had to practice smiling, and it's not because I have to fake being happy. I'm actually a very happy person in most ways. However, in my male mode, I find that I don't smile a lot.
Once I realized this, I also noted that in female mode I don't smile very much either. So I practice.
I actually work on it in front of a mirror, not only to see how it looks but also to feel how it feels. And I try to make it look natural. The more I practice, the easier it gets.
Girls smile a lot; guys seem to smile less and they tend to grin instead of smile. Maybe that's a subtle difference, but it's my observation.

[Miranda09]

I have had to practice smiling, and it's not because I have to fake being happy. I'm actually a very happy person in most ways. However, in my male mode, I find that I don't smile a lot.
Once I realized this, I also noted that in female mode I don't smile very much either. So I practice.
I actually work on it in front of a mirror, not only to see how it looks but also to feel how it feels. And I try to make it look natural. The more I practice, the easier it gets.
Girls smile a lot; guys seem to smile less and they tend to grin instead of smile. Maybe that's a subtle difference, but it's my observation.


I think the difference is that girls know how to give that unmistakable flirtatious smile that guys love so much. Guys don't do that! :) :D

[Joni Marie Cruz]

Hi Bunny-

What the other girls said. Men definitely tend to smile a lot less, not that guys always go around scowling or something, but girls are socialized to smile and to smile "big" if that makes sense. Girls smile with open lips and show their teeth, whereas guys tend to just curl up the corners of their mouth. Not true for everyone but generally speaking.

So if you want to look more feminine in your pix, just remember to smile and show your teeth when you do. It's something I've noticed in lots of pix of tgirls, a lot of the time they look, well, kind of grim or apprehensive about the whole thing, like the CD police are about to kick down the door or something. Speaking for myself, I'm pretty damned happy to be in girlmode, even if my shoes are killing me. Yeah, yeah, I know I'm not smiling in my current avatar, but I'm grinning like crazy on the inside.

Hugs...Joni Marie

[StephanieC]

I so hear ya. Sometimes when I think I'm smiling, I'll look in the mirror and see no smile. For me, I think I've always been self-conscious about my teeth.

A suppressed style of smiling also works against my sense of humor...it tends to be dry....so it feels like I'm smiling and telling a joke but looks totally deadpan. :straightface:

[RobertaM]

Actually i am finding my fem smile totally different than my guy one, maybe becuase i am truly happy when dressed,,,, duhhh.. gooottttooo fightttt the pinnnnnnk fooooog.

[Helen H. Heels]

I look at TX Kimberley and her unmistakable smile and try to imagine myself
in that frame.
A great smile takes away from scrutiny and gives us attraction.
Best smile,
Helen:battingeyelashes:

[Annie D]

As a male I oftentimes have a stern or serious look because I remain focused on the task at hand because I am very goal oriented. This is one of many traits that I really don't like about myself and I think that many of us share that same that same type of focus. As Annie I make a sincere effort to NOT be like my male self and as a result I smile alot more. I think that smiling makes me acceptable as a female.

[Teri Jean]

Kelly,
I have never had a problem with smiling but when my eldest daughter was getting maried a co-worker gave me some advice. Mike had never smiled during his daughter's wedding so he said live the moment and don't forget to smile at everything.
That is so true in everything we do, as Karen and others have said practice but also think of the fun you are having and it will happen. There is so much to smile about and you are the only one to find those things, moments, and or people. Trust yourself.

Huggs Keli

[Sam-antha]

1 Show your teeth
2 Push your tongue behind the front top teeth
3 Grin

Smiling is very important for a girl, some can make it mean different things too. I cannot.

[decoratorpro]

Just make yourself more aware of it. Realizing it is the first step. Now all you have to do is everytime you think about it, give yourself a little smile, even though you will be the only one who knows why. When people ask you why you smiled, just tell them you were thinking of an inside joke.

[rickie121x]

1 Show your teeth
2 Push your tongue behind the front top teeth
3 Grin.....
OK, reading this thread, and loving it by the way(!), I am working on my smile - something with which I have always had serious trouble, generally just looking like an idiot! (Or idiot-esse...)

So with my logictech camera on top of my monitor, I am, at this minute, trying Sam-antha's instructions and viewing results. I never before knew about the tongue behind the teeth technique - but I think it's an improvement. Truthfully, it's still not so great, but I will work on it. Thanks for the tips.

[5150 Girl]

I to have noticed a lack of smile in my pics. However, see'n as how I take all my pics myself with the self timer on the camera, I can trace my lack of grin to concentrating on all the technical aspects of taking the pic :doh:

[tricia_uktv]

The smile is in the eyes, not the lips? I wouldn't worry bout pics (if you've seen my you know I don't) pics arte about pouting. When your out dressed though, smile for all you're worth

[Victoria StJohn]

Bunny, I'm glad you started this post. I had thought of it many times, but didn't do anything about it. I have the same problem and been thinking of asking everyone's help in locating a copy of "Smiling for Dummies". :heehee::heehee:

[rickie121x]

Karren Hutton has the answer, Practice a lot. I would think that most of her portrait pics are probably shot with her camera at arm's length. You can take dozens of pics in a just a few minutes that way, viewing and improving on each one. And another way is to look at your computer screen view of your webcam. But you know, it is a lot like working out - tiring and unpleasant.

So here is how the camera answer works - look there, just only marginal smiles! But I found a great solution - for me - for sure. And it has to do with being close to a really cute GG. :daydreaming: :daydreaming:

[Veronica75]

This is all so true... I looked at recent pics of me en femme but smiling my boy smile, and in the good ones I look annoyed, in the bad ones I look... irregular.

And, as said above, smiling like a girl is as easy as smiling as big and toothy as you can, the results are amazing.

[Carrie R]

Yep, sure took some practice- I looked at a lot of my photos to get myself smiling better. The bad photos disappear into oblivion!
Now it's hard not to smile while taking photos.

[boardpuppy]

Smiling is contagious but when you grow up in a serious family then smiling is something you have to practice a lot. Even in drab mode, you have to smile a little for pics. Tks girls I needed this one badly, in both modes.

Hugs,
Alice