[Han Yeon-gu Kwon Magazine vol.32] Why Do I Look So Awkward in My Headshot? — How to Make a Natural Expression

[Han Yeon-gu Kwon Magazine vol.32] Why Do I Look So Awkward in My Headshot? — How to Make a Natural Expression

"Why do I always look so awkward in photos?"

This is the question I've heard the most while running a studio for 10 years. Even with perfect hair and makeup,

there are many cases where only the expression looks awkward when taking a photo. Today, I'll tell you the reason and the expression correction methods actually used on site.

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😶 Why does my expression freeze in photos?

When you stand in front of a camera, your brain recognizes it as "an important moment." At that moment, your muscles unconsciously tense up,

and your usual natural smile freezes into a forced smile. In particular, because there is a lot of pressure to "look good" in ID photos,

you often look much more awkward than in regular photos.

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✅ Our muscles move as much as we use them = The same goes for facial muscles

If you look at in-house models of airlines or corporate brochures, they are smiling so brightly and beautifully, right?

In fact, they probably couldn't smile that well from the beginning.

Actually, when you join an airline or a service job, there is time or training to practice smiling.

Facial muscles are just like weight training. They move as much as you use them, so it's hard to do well just by smiling suddenly!

So, if you suddenly smile when taking a photo, your mouth will cramp, so it's very important to practice smiling usually!

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✅ 5 Ways to Make a Natural Expression

1. Open and close your mouth wide right before taking the picture. This is the fastest way to relieve tension in the muscles around your mouth.

After opening your mouth wide like "Ah~", closing it naturally will make the forced-looking mouth shape disappear.

2. Close your eyes tightly once and then open them. If you try to open your eyes wide forcefully, you will look scary instead.

If you take a picture of the moment when you close your eyes slightly and open them slowly, you will get natural and soft eyes.

3. Close your mouth and say "Mm" instead of "Whiskey." If a smile that shows your teeth is awkward, you don't have to force yourself to smile.

You can make a good impression just by slightly raising the corners of your mouth with your mouth lightly closed.

4. Practice smiling with your eyes. The key to a natural expression is not the mouth but the eyes.

Stand in front of a mirror and practice slightly raising the muscles under your eyes (eye bags) while keeping your mouth still. Your expression will be completely different.

5. Close your eyes and exhale for 5 seconds right before shooting. When you are tense, your breathing becomes shallow.

If you close your eyes and exhale slowly right before the shutter, the entire facial muscles will relax naturally.

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📌 Impression Differences by Expression — What kind of expression is suitable for a job application photo?

Expression	Impression	Recommended Industries
Mouth closed, corners of mouth slightly raised	Trustworthiness, Neatness	Public companies, Finance
Natural slight smile	Friendliness, Comfort	IT, Service industry
Smile with teeth slightly visible	Brightness, Activity	Service industry, Sales

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📸 What if it's difficult to practice expression correction alone?

The expression you practice in front of the mirror is different from the expression that comes out in front of the actual camera.

The best way is to take selfies with your smartphone in advance and find the expression that suits you.

And for those who have always felt awkward in photos taken at photo studios or by others,

if you use Monkos.ai, which allows you to take photos just like selfies, you can check how your expression will look before the actual shoot with just one smartphone selfie.

If you're worried about your expression, test it with Monkos.ai first 👇 👉 monkos.ai

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