Live-stream segment in which TJ Walker answers a viewer (Buddy) worried about looking angry in photos ("RBF"). Walker explains that facial muscles and gravity tend to make neutral expressions look glum on camera and recommends maintaining a subtle, slight smile (no teeth required) — a small upturn/cheek lift — to appear more relaxed, confident, and communicative.
Chapters
Buddy writes in with the following question. Dear tj, I fear I have rbf. And that, of course, stands for resting. Something that rhymes with which that starts with a B. No, folks, I'm not a prude, but I don't want to get banned off of itunes from India. So you can't use curse words or obscenities. So resting rhymes with which face? In photos of me in a meeting, I always look like I have an angry look on my face. It's not that I'm angry, it's just that I'm paying attention to what other presenters are saying and collecting my thoughts. Many times my staff and friends text me, smile, you look angry. I try. And it feels fake. Or I start smiling when I hear cameras start clicking. And again, I feel like a poser. Please help a politician with rbf. Thanks, Buddy. Well, Buddy, I am sympathetic. Here's the problem, Buddy. Most human beings, especially if they're over, say, 20 years old, gravity starts to bring our face down. So when we're just listening to someone, our face goes blank. And when our face goes blank, it may look perfectly fine in person, but on TV and pictures, on video, it looks glum, it looks flat. You look bored and boring. Unfortunately, the only solution is you need a little bit of a smile on your face. Now, it doesn't have to be a gigantic, toothy TV evangelist smile, just a little bit. You don't even have to show teeth, but you just need to bring your face up a little. Sometimes you think of it as just bringing your cheeks up a little and you'll look more comfortable, confident and relaxed. Here's the thing, you won't look like you're smiling. You'll just look more relaxed. Now, I understand, I'm sympathetic to your saying you feel a bit of a phony, but guess what? We all do some things that are a little bit artificial. If you're going to somebody's funeral and it's a hot summer day and it's 85 degrees out, if you're wearing suit and tie and a jacket, there's 32 thicknesses of cloth around your neck. You're not doing that because you need it for warmth. You're doing it because you're showing a certain level of seriousness for the occasion. Same could be said for certain types of shoes. Men and women, they're not necessarily about comfort. They are about showing a certain level of respect for a certain situation. So all of us do some things that are a little different, different circumstances. So what I'd like you to do buddy, is to think about having just a little bit of a smile on your face. Not frozen and stiff the whole time, but just a little bit of an upturn. If you do that, you'll photograph much, much better. And people will not think you're angry. Because ultimately, what our face is for is communication. Someone says something really surprising and you look surprised, you're communicating. But if someone is just giving straightforward information, you look angry or mad, then something isn't working for you. And that's why I recommend the slight smile on the face. It's a subtle thing. It won't look like a smile. You'll just look more relaxed. Hope that makes you feel better, buddy. Good luck.
