If you have been the type to shy away from photos because you don’t love your smile, there are a couple of things that can help you to ditch the worry and help you step into the frame a little bit more often.

Space

Having your top and bottom teeth touching isn’t something you’ll often see in the photos of celebs – and there is a reason for it. If you are pressing your top and bottom teeth together in a smile, you’ll make your neck muscles tense, and your jaw on either side will protrude too. So when you check back on the photos, you won’t like what they see. 

Dry teeth

If you have dry teeth, your lips are likely to stick and be pulled tightly across. But what is more important is that in the photo, your smile will look nice and shiny (or, in other words, healthy). 

A tip that makeup artists and professional photographers use is smearing a little vaseline across the lips. This isn’t something you can do at a moment’s notice, though – but great if you have some headshots coming up! 

Gaps 

There is something charming about a gap in the two front teeth, but if that gap is elsewhere in the mouth, it can look unsightly and feel a bit embarrassing. Getting dental implants will get rid of that gap for good – meaning you’ll never be worried about that unsightly gap again. 

Deep breath

If you tense up when people ask you to smile, ready for a photo, take a moment to take a deep breath, and untense as you breathe out. When you are tense in photos, you are more likely to pull a very large and unusually wide grin. When you are relaxed, you are more likely to offer something natural. 

Lip color 

There are a couple of lip colors that have a blue undertone that will help your teeth look more white. If you are worried that your teeth are a little more on the beige side, and that stops you from smiling – keep in mind that white teeth have often been whitened. There are several whitening options if you choose – but you should discuss these with your dentist first. There are a couple of at-home treatments that are damaging to gums. 

Memories

If you really struggle when people ask you to smile, try to line up some memories that make you smile the moment you think of them. This means you’ll be genuinely happy and give the most natural smile that you can. 

The funnier the memory to more sparkly your eyes will be in the photo – and you will look genuinely happy. 

It also means that your demeanor will be more relaxed, too – giving you a beautiful end result. 

Angle  

If you have a say in the angle, always have the camera pointing down on you – but not too far. A slight top-down angle for the photo is one of the most flattering options. 

A big smile is a big part of looking and feeling great – The Difference Between Good-Looking & Great-Looking. 

**This post has been contributed**