11 Tips for the Perfect Picture with Braces
Between Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and more, there’s never been a better time to flaunt a fabulous photo. But can you still get an amazing picture when you have metal braces in your mouth?
Of course you can!! This week, we’re sharing 11 insider tips that you can use to get the perfect picture.
1) You Can’t Get a Great Picture without Smiling
Trying to get the best picture without utilizing your natural smile is like trying to keep off the rain without an umbrella一it’s just not going to happen!
The team at Blue Ridge Orthodontics believes that it’s always the right time to emBRACE your look and smile through it.
2) Practice Your Smile with Your New Braces
If you’re new to braces or uncomfortable with the thought of smiling while wearing them, the best thing to do is practice. Take a little time in front of the mirror to strike a natural grin while keeping your back straight and head high. The more comfortable you are with the position, the more likely you’ll use it for those Kodak moments, plus this gives you an opportunity to familiarize yourself with your best angles. Try to smile “gently” so as to look more appealing.
3) Work on Your Flexibility and Control
When you’re not thinking about it, a smile can come as naturally as you blink, but attempting to recreate a Duchenne smile is often achieved through the perfect balance of flexibility and control. Think of a memory that genuinely makes you smile and become familiar with what parts of your face are engaged.
A good exercise to try is holding your mouth closed and stretching the corners in either direction until you feel your cheek muscles begin to strain. Practice this pose every week for greater control over your facial muscles.
4) Avoid taking a picture using the flash
Ask any photography aficionado and they’ll tell you the same thing: natural light is best when you’re trying to snap a selfie, and flash should be avoided as much as possible. Professionals rely on equipment to diffuse a flash evenly, but a regular camera or phone won’t have that capability, and its flash will only enhance the lines around your mouth and teeth. Best to rely on sunlight for a more natural look!
5) Wear the right lipstick
It’s no secret why lipstick has always stayed at the forefront of every big beauty movement: it can greatly improve your overall look and even make your teeth look brighter. Be sure to find the right shade for your skin tone, though, or you may run the risk of washing yourself out. Shades that are based in blue or pink tones, like cherry red, plum, wine, or rose, are usually your best bet, as they’ll offset the yellow stains on your teeth.
6) Be Sure to brush your teeth and braces beforehand
It’s important while wearing braces to brush your teeth after every meal, but why not go the extra mile and polish off those pearly whites before any photo op? Even if it doesn’t make much of a difference, you’ll feel more comfortable and carefree knowing that there isn’t anything caught in your braces.
7) Don’t Forget to Clean Your Gums Too
Ah, the gums! I’m sure your orthodontist has said it a million times, but gums should never be ignored, and this is especially true while you’ve got gear on. Healthy gums are the secret to having a beautiful smile for years to come. Get in the habit of bringing threaded dental floss with you everywhere and make sure to use it! It’ll give you peace of mind and guarantee a happy smile.
8) Practice Your Posture
An easy trick to looking your best in photos actually has nothing to do with your smile一standing up straight immediately improves your overall demeanor, making you look comfortable and confident. The problem is that, for most of us, good posture is not our resting state. Take an extra moment in front of the mirror to practice how you stand and try to do it frequently throughout the day. When it’s camera time, turn your head and drop your chin a bit so that your face is not aimed squarely at the lens.
9) Don’t Shy Away From the Camera
If you only take one of these tips with you today, we hope it’ll be this one一always look at the camera and smile when someone decides to take a picture of you. It’s easy to be hyper-critical of yourself at first glance, but you’ll be happier for having those memories the older you get. Looking at the camera will make you appear more friendly as well, which will enhance the photo overall.
10) Smile with Your Eyes
Tyra Banks said it best一the key to modeling is nailing the “smize,” or smile with your eyes, technique. And it’s not just celebrities who endorse it, psychologists have found that all sincere smiles involve some kind of contraction of the muscles around the eyes.
This is often known as the “Duchenne smile,” and it’s not a mechanism that most people are aware of, but using it when you smile will give your face a much more authentic look of joy and happiness.
11) Steal this Proven Celebrity Smiling Trick
Those perfect smiles you see on the red carpet didn’t happen overnight. While there are a number of tricks that celebrities use to ensure a gorgeous smile, there’s only one that we have found to be faultless: find your best side and angle it toward the light. Most people have an asymmetrical face, so finding your better side (the one with less wrinkles or bigger features) is a must if you’re going to have consistently good photos. When you know which one works best for you, it’ll be much easier to strike a pose your happy with whenever the moment calls for it.
We hope that this post has made you more confident in how you look in photographs, but at the end of the day what really matters is how you feel. A happy disposition will shine through any picture. Whether you’re on a dream vacation or rocking adult braces, remember to smile! You’ve earned it.
