Fake smile ?

Hell on earth

Hell on earth

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Helen
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Not really looking for comments on the technical, I know it's not great.

My feeling at the time was the lady was just happy and having fun not putting on a fake smile, her smile is consistent in most that I took.... to me

Then her daughter after seeing some said it was a fake smile and this has upset the lady and gone from liking the photos to not

What do you think, does it look fake ?

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Big Andy said:
It looks genuine enough to me, the eyes are smiling as well as the mouth.
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gramps said:
... daughter needs to go and find something useful to do!
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+100

Andy got it right, the eyes are smiling too! The eyes alone may smile
and that makes beautiful expressions… but hardly lips alone!
 
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Thanks everyone
 
As above :D

She does look a bit nervous though!
Are you frightening? :)
Maybe not nervous, possibly a bit self conscious at being photographed.
 
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Her eyes are smiling but her shoulders look tense. She doesn't look as relaxed as she could be maybe?
 
Sir SR said:
Her eyes are smiling but her shoulders look tense.
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Yep, it's mainly her right one. Analysing the picture far more than any right-thinking person ever would, I wonder if the daughter's picked up on the fact that the eyes seem to be smiling more than the mouth does. The two don't seem to be quite in synch, and I reckon the reason for that is that the mouth was changing when this was taken but the eyes weren't. That's caught me out a few times with candid bride portraits

Seeing the same shot taken 1/30th after this one would be interesting. Having said that, though, daughter dear needs to get over herself.
 
Hell on earth said:
What do you think, does it look fake ?
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To me it's just a massively awkward and unflattering pose, and given this any expression risks looking contrived. If the pose looks tense, the smile will never appear natural.
 
kendo1 said:
As above :D

She does look a bit nervous though!
Are you frightening? :)
Maybe not nervous, possibly a bit self conscious at being photographed.
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I'm as frighting as hell LOL yes maybe a bit

Sir SR said:
Her eyes are smiling but her shoulders look tense. She doesn't look as relaxed as she could be maybe?
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Serendipitous Sid said:
Yep, it's mainly her right one. Analysing the picture far more than any right-thinking person ever would, I wonder if the daughter's picked up on the fact that the eyes seem to be smiling more than the mouth does. The two don't seem to be quite in synch, and I reckon the reason for that is that the mouth was changing when this was taken but the eyes weren't. That's caught me out a few times with candid bride portraits

Seeing the same shot taken 1/30th after this one would be interesting. Having said that, though, daughter dear needs to get over herself.
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Well as I said lots wrong with this shot, did not want to get in to that here, not one I gave her but again as I said the smile is consistent with the ones I did give her.

When talking to the daughter whom I had taken a couple of shots of with her mother, she said.. you made me look fat.. so then I'm thinking she has just said about her mother to make me look bad and be spiteful.
 
Hell on earth said:
I'm as frighting as hell LOL yes maybe a bit





Well as I said lots wrong with this shot, did not want to get in to that here, not one I gave her but again as I said the smile is consistent with the ones I did give her.

When talking to the daughter whom I had taken a couple of shots of with her mother, she said.. you made me look fat.. so then I'm thinking she has just said about her mother to make me look bad and be spiteful.
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Ah well. You win some, you lose some :)
 
Alastair said:
To me it's just a massively awkward and unflattering pose, and given this any expression risks looking contrived. If the pose looks tense, the smile will never appear natural.
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It's funny really as I could agree the pose is not great but as it goes the lady liked that pose over 3/4 and side poses
 
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Hell on earth said:
When talking to the daughter whom I had taken a couple of shots of with her mother, she said.. you made me look fat.. so then I'm thinking she has just said about her mother to make me look bad and be spiteful.
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the answer to that is "I'm a photographer love, not a f***in magician"
 
I'd be interested now to see a few other shots to decide
How are you at direction when shooting portraits? It's easy to get it wrong and maybe add a few pounds in camera, but it's also quite easy to get the best of models by correcting posture, pose and show off curves
To answer original question, smile looks real but the angle taken from and the posture don't do her many favours. As a head shot it's quite nice
 
BruceMo said:
I'd be interested now to see a few other shots to decide
How are you at direction when shooting portraits? It's easy to get it wrong and maybe add a few pounds in camera, but it's also quite easy to get the best of models by correcting posture, pose and show off curves
To answer original question, smile looks real but the angle taken from and the posture don't do her many favours. As a head shot it's quite nice
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Don't really want to get in to all that, was just interested in views on the smile.
 
BruceMo said:
I replied already, but my first thought was reply in a nice letter
Dear fatty, sorry my camera isn't an xray machine :LOL:
I'm much too polite to say that tho haha
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LOL
 
Hell on earth said:
Don't really want to get in to all that, was just interested in views on the smile.
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Unfortunately with only one example provided it's difficult to see the smile issue as distinct from the pose.
 
Alastair said:
Unfortunately with only one example provided it's difficult to see the smile issue as distinct from the pose.
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Ok thanks for you comment but I'm still not getting in to that.
 
Hell on earth said:
LOL well she is about 200lbs
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Yeah i'd never say that to a client in reality but it has occurred to me while they are standing their blocking out the sun and effecting the tides, looking less attractive than the bottom of a coal barge and exhibiting a personality like a bulldog chewing a wasp whilst saying " You will make me look slim and beautiful won't you ?"

Though my personal favorite was the one where the mother of the bride said in front of her daughter " you will make her look slim won't you, as she needs to lose a few pounds " (daughter looked to be about a size 12 to me :bang: )
 
big soft moose said:
Yeah i'd never say that to a client in reality but it has occurred to me while they are standing their blocking out the sun and effecting the tides, looking less attractive than the bottom of a coal barge and exhibiting a personality like a bulldog chewing a wasp whilst saying " You will make me look slim and beautiful won't you ?"

Though my personal favorite was the one where the mother of the bride said in front of her daughter " you will make her look slim won't you, as she needs to lose a few pounds " (daughter looked to be about a size 12 to me :banghead: )
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OMG lol
I've had a few asking me to lose them a few pounds and I do try with pose and editing but then you can go to far and people that know them, know it's been shopped
 
As a portrait photographer it's important to try and invoke a natural smile somehow if even for a moment to see for yourself how it differs to their fake version. Some people are very good at giving a fake smile. It's not an issue for me because I'm naturally hilarious in any environment ;).

I did actually ask a model why she kept bursting out laughing once mind you and she told me it was the facial expression I was pulling so that may go someway of explaining why my clients are so smiley. I'm very conscious of my camera-face now.

I think I get more blokes asking me to put hair on their heads than anyone asking to look slimmer.
 
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