How to Make Awkward Smiles Natural

Dear Jasmine,
Years ago I shot a beautiful wedding and everything went well, my only eye twitch came from some of the “smiles” I got from the bride. She is a beautiful woman and she has this very big smile that often looks fake – lots of teeth and the eyes don't always reflect the same “happiness”.
Anyway, I'm shooting another wedding in August and from the photos I've seen (on Facebook & Instagram) this bride-to-be has a very similar smile! Is there some totally unoffensive way you get people to change their smile? I mean I can only get her to relax and laugh naturally so many times. My comedy routine is only a 10 minute show. ;D
Sincerely,
Unoffensively Worried

Dear Unoffensively Worried,
Why, yes, I just made up the word “unoffensively”, but–hey–it's Friday and we can make up our own rules. So now let's get back to this idea of smiling. Based on your description, I know the exact smile you're describing. But I can take this idea even further because most smiles (the ones we see on Facebook and Instagram) are fake. They're posed smiles we've all been socially trained to possess in photos. Heck, have you seen my Instagram feed? I do the same thing!

But that's where our skills as photographers need to shine. Whenever I encounter a new client in front of my camera, the default smile is what I refer to as The Facebook Smile. I actually say this to my client. I explain that during my shoot, I'll be capturing a mix of emotions, so she can rest assured that I'll talk her through what I'm looking for.

That's key. Make sure to explain what you're looking for and coach her to your desired outcome.

Here's a recent example of poses I used to ensure the bride didn't feel stuck in her Facebook Smile pose…

Instead of asking for the bride to look straight at my camera and smile, I gave her specific instructions to shift her face to help her ease into various smiles. During this time I was talking to her and letting her know what was working…as you can tell from left to right, slight shifts with her head, her eyes, and hands make even the simplest photos more natural. And natural empowers a subject to not feel the pressure of posing in the way she normally does. When this happens–when her smile is relaxed and confident–I know I'm doing my job.

I hope this sheds more insight into how I work and I can't wait to post more from this NYC shoot next week…
Happiness in my eyes,
j*