Have you ever noticed that some people have the best smiles and they seem to literally light up a room? As a photographer, I often hear people say that they don’t look good when they smile so they don’t want to smile in the photographs that I am doing. After thirty years of photographing people, I can tell you that this is not true. EVERYONE looks better when they smile. It changes your eyes and gives them life. Beyond making it a better photo, a smile can change the world around you. Here is an interesting exercise.

What you are seeing when someone lights up the room with their smile is actually something very unique. Smiling, when done on a regular basis, continues to activate a specific part of your brain. If this part of your brain is naturally activated, you are a positive thinker, people are drawn to you and enjoy being around you.

If it is not activated, you tend to be more negative, discouraged, or even depressed. Take it from a professional observer of people, you are probably not a fun person to spend time with.

Here is a great tip for a life-changing outcome. This is a scientifically proven way to activate this ‘feel good’ area of your brain. Try to smile until you get crinkles around your eyes. Force yourself in the beginning to do this. Hopefully, it will come more natural to you the more you do it. This will physically turn on this portion of your brain. Not only will you feel better - but you will get more positive responses from the people around you! Another way to trigger this part of your brain and get that smile going is to have a really good laugh. Watch more funny movies and enjoy a good joke and laugh out loud, even if you are alone. Especially if you are alone!

And in the meantime I hope you have a happy day, whatever the circumstances are around you and keep smiling.

Author's Bio: 

Nancy Ori is the owner and director of all projects produced by NJ Media Center LLC. She has an interesting blend of a creative fine art photography background combined with the corporate photography she has done for over 30 years. She was Manager of the Photography and Video Services Department for Ciba-Geigy Corporation and Novartis Pharmaceuticals where she worked for 25 years. Her fine art background includes teaching at the Ansel Adams Workshop series for 8 seasons, founder of the New Jersey Photography Forum in 1994 and the Digital Arts Groups at the New Jersey Center for Visual Arts in Summit, NJ, founder of the New Jersey Heritage Workshop series in 1990 and being on exhibition regularly in numerous museum, corporate and commercial galleries throughout the state.