# I can not smile on purpose. You? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 29, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-not-smile-on-purpose-you/607729 "2011-12-29T15:59:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-not-smile-on-purpose-you/607729/41 "2012-01-03T04:46:09Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > No, but you do seem to use the word smile oddly. I wouldn’t say you can’t smile, just that your smile often looks fake. > > The solution I find is to lightly squint my eyes while going slightly out of focus, while doing only a moderate smile. Wait a few seconds and gradually make it bigger. By the time the smile is at normal size, it will look like you are really happy–and I kinda am. > > (It’s been shown that smiling for 30 seconds improves mood.) I think he’s saying that what he does is not a smile that looks fake, but an expression that isn’t even recognisable as a smile. That’s what I’m saying, anyway. And none of those techniques help for flashing a quick friendly smile at someone. ---
**Author:** ![sangfroid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e0b2c6/32.png) [@sangfroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sangfroid)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-not-smile-on-purpose-you/607729/42 "2012-01-03T05:08:23Z")
Can’t do it on demand, and don’t have a pretty smile anyway. Some of us are photogenic, some ain’t. I’ve learned to be OK with myself, but the paparazzi in my family circle and at work who try to force pictures annoy me. My wife took one of the best pictures of me with my (then) young son sitting on our couch, he in my lap (he was about 3 at the time). I didn’t know she even had the camera, and never saw her take the picture. The kid and me were just looking at each other and were a portrait of familial love - very sweet. If she asked me to pose, I would’ve come out looking like a scowling monster, I’m sure. I strongly suspect the best professional photographers instinctively know how to let their subjects relax and be themselves, then snap shots unobtrusively. Posing sucks. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-not-smile-on-purpose-you/607729/43 "2012-01-03T05:22:23Z")
My forced smile also looks terrible. It looks like I’m suffering. If there’s a photo of me smiling in which I don’t appear to be having a stroke, then I’ve got this weird half-smirk thing going on. I’ve actually practiced fake smiling in front of the mirror, and I’m just no good at it. This is why I hide from cameras at parties. What’s irritating about my inability to feign a passable smile on cue is I actually smile a lot, so shouldn’t I be better at this? I suppose it’s the same as someone telling me “Act normal!” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-can-not-smile-on-purpose-you/607729.md?page=2)