How to Look Confident in Photos

Have you ever felt awkward taking pictures?

Whether your eyes seem too wide, your smile feels forced, or you just don't project the confidence you want, you're not alone!

In this article, we'll break down five simple tricks to instantly look more confident in photos. From subtle facial adjustments to mindset shifts, these techniques will help you look natural, poised, and self-assured, no matter who’s behind the camera!

Here's what's covered:

• The one small change to your eyes that makes a HUGE difference in confidence
• Why a fake smile is a bigger problem than most people think – and how to get a natural one
• A simple mental trick that transforms your expression from nervous to relaxed and confident

If you're tired of cringing at your photos, read on to discover how to showcase your best, most confident self every time you're in front of a camera!

​
How to Look Confident in Photos

​Step 1: Squint Your Eyes

​Your eyes are critically important if you want to have a confident expression. In order to properly pull off a confident look, you’ll need to slightly squint your eyes, primarily using the lower eyelids. An easy way to do this is to imagine you’re trying to squeeze your eyes from the sides, and when you do that, you’ll start to automatically pull your lower eyelids up. This tightness in the lower lids automatically increases your confidence and can make any expression look more intense.

Be aware, however, that if you think your eyes look too small on-camera, it can backfire. By worrying about the size of your eyes, you’ll unconsciously try to make your eyes bigger or wider, which often leads to the classic deer in the headlights look. A better way to open up your eyes naturally is to look slightly above the camera lens - you can look at the top of the lens or top of the camera itself. Take care to ensure you don’t accidentally squint your upper eyelids or you may wind up looking sleepy or drunk!

​Step 2: Relax Your Mouth and Don't Fake Smile!

Did you know that your mouth can determine whether you look confident or worried on-camera? Many people unconsciously purse their lips when having their picture taken because they are nervous, or they have a fake smile. If this is you, pay extra attention and try to avoid it.

How to Look Confident in Photos When Smiling: Funny enough, smiling actually makes people think you're MORE confident in yourself. This is because it takes a very self-assured person to simply laugh and capture a genuine, real smile on camera. Most of us have insecurities like worrying how white our teeth are, or the fact that some lines appear on our face when we smile, etc. Simply not caring and just laughing on camera shows people you're fully confident in yourself!

How to Look Good in Photos Without Smiling: If you want to capture a more subdued confident expression, we recommend doing a very subtle, slight smile that reads as “confident but approachable.” If you laugh through your nose with your lips closed, you can get a tiny smile that will often work perfectly. Try to avoid having a completely blank mouth or the shot won’t look as interesting.

Step 3: Relax Your Eyebrows

Rather than focusing on what you should do here, we are going to focus on what NOT to do. Watch out for the "look of worry” in your eyebrows where they can look like the following symbol:

~

This subtle eyebrow furrowing usually happens unconsciously when you’re worried. I find the easiest way to get rid of this is just to actually feel more confident, which we’ll discuss in greater detail next shortly.

Another trick you can use it to do a tiny "eyebrow flash," where you quickly raise and lower your eyebrows, as if to say, "Hey!" Doing this will relax them enough to get rid of the look of worry in them.

​Step 4: Use the Proper Head Tilt

Head tilt is going to determine whether you look confident, sneaky, or just plain odd. Keep your chin slightly raised or slightly lowered, but never go too far. If your photographer lets you see the images during the shoot and you think you’re starting to too sneaky or creepy, it’s likely because your chin is too low, meaning you should raise it up just a bit. But if your chin gets raised too far, it will just look odd and you’ll almost certainly notice it. Somewhere in the middle is the best bet.

Step 5: Control Your Mental Focus

Mechanics are very important, but even more crucial is your mental focus during a photoshoot. My belief is that one can never have a completely realistic expression without embodying the actual emotion in one's body and just being themselves.

If you’re just beginning the shoot and you’re not comfortable on camera yet, you'll want to relax a bit and laugh so you calm down and get used to being in front of a lens. Even though your goal might be to capture a confident, serious expression, you should try doing some laughter shots for the first few minutes until you relax and feel comfortable.

In order to help our clients feel more confident, we like to joke and remind them that, although they might not be feeling confident in front of the camera and all the lights right now, all they have to do is go overboard and pretend they are SO confident that they’re feeling cocky. Doing a few fun shots with this ridiculous, overly cocky look will make it much easier to relax into a more natural confident look later.

​You can then apply each of the mechanical suggestions mentioned previously and tweak your expression as needed to get it looking just right.

What NOT to Do in Photos

​Why Do I Look Awkward in Photos?

If you follow the guidelines in this article, you should have no trouble looking confident in photos. However, there are a few simple mistakes people make in trying to look confident that can mess up the image – and cause them to look just the opposite: awkward!

​Here are the most common:

• Asking the Photographer to Shoot from a Low Angle: Although the common belief is that low angles can make you appear more confident, the fact is, most low angles don't look flattering. It's much better to shoot from a slightly high angle, and instead tilt your head up a bit higher to give the impression of confidence.
• Trying to Take Up More Space: Some people recommend leaning back, spreading your weight onto both legs, or putting your hands on your hips. This advice, though it can help make someone appear more confident in real life, is often detrimental in a photo because the angles and body positions captured usually don't look natural. It's always better to assume poses that are traditionally great on camera and then slightly modify your expression to capture the necessary confidence.
• Overthinking It: At the end of the day, confidence comes from within. The more you worry about getting a super specific expression, the less confident you'll feel. This especially applies at the beginning of your shoot. Have fun, laugh, and enjoy the process because the more you do, the better your photos will turn out.

​Want to Take This a Step Deeper?

​I'd like to show you the top secrets we’ve learned over the past decade - secrets we use to help our clients look more professional, trustworthy, and confident on-camera - within the first few minutes of their shoot.

After reading this short guide, you'll find it way easier to present yourself exactly how you want in your photos, no matter who you shoot with!

​What's included:

• Learn our 3 tricks to release facial tension fast so you can smile naturally
• Discover 2 surprising facts that make the camera feel much less intimidating - so that you feel comfortable enough to get genuine expressions
• Learn the 3 things we say to help our clients look confident within the first few minutes of their shoot
• ​And a number of other great tips...

Just let me know where to send the guide by clicking the button:

Send Me the Free Guide

---

​Further Reading:

If you enjoyed this article, chances are you'll enjoy these:

• How Can I Look More Photogenic?
• What to Wear in Photos?
• Professional Headshots: Do They Make a Difference?
• Family Photographer NYC & NJ
• Wedding Photographer NYC​
• ​New Jersey Wedding Photographers