That Smile! | Glamour Boudoir Photography | Pittsburgh

Ahhh! That smile! It just lights up my day when I see smiles like this. Tell me...when you looked at that huge grins that you didn't smile...just a little? These kinds of smiles inspire happiness.

So....how do I get my clients to smile like that? Well, a couple of things. Firstly, these 2 ladies, as you can see, have that kind of mouth that smiles very easily. They have beautiful lips and perfect teeth. So you can tell that they're used to showing off those gorgeous grins. When I have a client in front of me that I know is very used to smiling big I use it to my advantage. I absolutely have those clients that are very shy in front of the camera and when they smile it's like a JC Penney ad. Not exactly what I'm going for. So here are a few tricks to get a real smile.

~Be funny. Trust me, I'm the goofiest one in the room when I'm photographing. I have no problem saying something outlandish or self-deprecating or anything off the cuff to get that smile. When I get that camera in front of my face I become an actress. I will show you (not tell you) soft, fierce, shy, hilarious...etc. Don't be afraid to do this because once your client sees you doing all of this unabashedly, they will feel they can do it too...even if they only do it 75% of your 150% you can make it work. ~Show them the difference between a JC Penney smile and a smile that reaches the eyes. You know when someone says something they think is soooooo funny and you feel like you just need to giggle so you don't hurt their feelings? That's a JC Penney smile. It doesn't reach your eyes. However, think of the funniest thing you've heard or seen (for me it was a friend that tripped over a blanket and I watched, in slow motion I swear, her go done like a ton of bricks...good times...good times). Remember how you laughed at that when it happened? That's a smile that reaches the eyes. So show your client what that looks like and when you're asking them to give you a smile you tell them "OK, let's see that big huge toothy gigantic smile that shows in your eyes" and it will work. ~Shoot 5 frames and by the 6th the smile relaxes. So when I tell a client that has a hard time giving me a genuine smile I tell them to give me a huge grin and I keep shooting frames until I see it relax and usually by the 6th frame I get a more relaxed and real smile. ~Tell your client to look down and smile. Sometimes it's easier for a shy girl to smile while she's not looking at you. So I will tell her to look at the floor, reset that face, breathe...then smile big. I will capture her looking down smiling and then I will say "eyes to me" and snap. I got it.

Don't ever forget the smiling photos because it's those photos that will inspire anyone who knows that girl into saying "Yeah...there she is. That's my girl." That's the twinkle they want to see. Sexy is awesome. Big smiles drive it all home.

Want to learn more about what I do? Go here.

Fabulous hair and makeup by the ever-so-talented Justine Lynn of Beauty Justified.