Smiling in Pictures and MBTI Type

[Kyrielle]

I smile in pictures, because people kept complaining that I looked annoyed/unhappy. (Quite likely. Cameras pointing at me do not elicit happy feelings.) So, I make myself smile. It's not always entirely fake...I've learned to go very far away in my head and laugh at something there so that I just happen to be grinning at the camera when the picture is taken.

[file cabinet]

Latest age estimates are mid-to-late 30s, and people tend to be very shocked that I'm as young as I am.

shave the beard!

[logan235711]

I've noticed a lot of INT*s don't smile in pictures. What's your type and do you smile or not smile and why?

I'm an INTP and I never smiled until I had my son. Since he was born at such a contentious time in my life I never wanted him to look back at pictures and think I was unhappy he was born. The habit stuck.

That's really touching

I suppose I don't smile for most pictures because a picture is supposed to represent who I am and in general I just don't go around smiling all the time, and I'm pretty sure most people don't. So if someone wants a smiley picture then asking me to look how I am feeling that the moment or be in the moment is probably the best way to get a smile (assuming my feelings would entail a smile), because pictures can represents many things in a persons life of course : ) I probably act a bit different in group photos then--of course. I'm not too sure, to be honest I haven't given all this a lot of thought before since I'm rarely in pictures anyways--so there are probably deeper reasons, and I am aware of some whilst typing this but if I talked about them it would probably derail the thread too far :p

[Wolf]

shave the beard!

I would if any female that I might be interested in tells me to, but unless that happens (the likelihood of this is very close to zero) it is easier (and less painful) to avoid shaving my entire face.

["?"]

I never smile in pictures. In fact, I don't consider myself photogenic, so shy from cameras.

[girlnamedbless]

It's hard to catch me NOT smiling.. so yeah, I smile for pictures!

[rhinosaur]

Yeah, I smile in photos.

[niffer]

When I was small I didn't know how to smile properly, unless I heard something funny enough to make me laugh. I never smiled in pictures unless I was forced to, and even then I looked funny. I was the ultimate introvert back then.

Now, I almost always smile when I get my picture taken with friends. They're reason enough for me to smile. If I can't manage a smile for whatever reason, I pull some sort of comical face. It's sort of weird smiling alone in a picture though, unless a good friend is taking the picture.

I never volunteer to take the picture. I'm not J enough for that stuff. I'd rather just laze around with my head in my ass until some J kid whips out their new Nikon. pshh *shuns*

[PuddleRiver]

Im an ENFJ and unless someone catches a candid shot of me I don't even like being in pictures. I don't like forced smiles and when someone is taking a picture of me I feel forced to smile. Hate it. I'm always the one volunteering to take the picture. I'm much more comfortable behind the lens than in front of it. I'm generally hiding in the pictures I am in.

I think btw that it's really kind of you to think ahead in terms of your son looking back at pictures of you at this time. It's hard to smile when you're not feeling it from the inside but for you to consider how he might feel or what he might think about your facial expressions...that's really fantastic. I hope perhaps just your son's being here will turn this time in your life towards the positive.

That's me too. My Dad was an avid (rabid?) photographer and was always snapping pictures. But never candid shots, always posed. He would even pose the candid shots for pete's sake. lol

I felt hunted.

[indigo2020]

I did not smile in pictures as a child for a while and my stepdad would get pissed. He would insist that I smile.

I do smile now but I usually don't show my teeth and sometimes I still don't like to smile. It just depends on how I am feeling and the context of the photo.