Just Say No to Closed-Eye Pictures

I was blessed, or cursed, depending on how you look at it, with fluffy little cheeks. I like them because they tend to make a face cheerier and friendly, but I hate them because they always make my eyes close in pictures. Yes, I am that girl who makes the photographer do fifteen shots to make sure her eyes aren't closed. The worst part is that I now have a collection of pictures from when I was younger where I'm not flashing a warm smile because I had to be cognizant of my eyes closing. However, when my husband I were getting married, our wedding photographer taught me a really great trick to relax your facial muscles and kiss those closed-eye pictures goodbye!

The next time you are going to get your picture taken and a smile is required, press your tongue to the roof of your mouth. I'm not sure muscularly how this helps, but you can feel it. When you press your tongue up there, you can feel the muscles under your eyes relax, thereby freeing your eyes from being pushed closed by your cheeks! It really works well. The following two pictures will show you the difference.

                                 

                     

The fist picture was taken at a friend's wedding. It occurred after mine, but I think I already had a glass of wine or two by this time so I forgot my technique. As you can see I have the same smile in both, but in the first one my eyes are near closed. In fact, the lighting in the open-eyed picture is brighter and I still have my eyes open. Try it out, I swear it works.