Looking awkward without being awkward...
July 28, 2010 1:24 PM Subscribe
I make awkward faces when I sing and when I'm having my photo taken. How do I not?
This problem doesn't happen when I'm in front of a mirror or with friends, but in front of a crowd or when I'm having my picture taken, I just can't be photogenic/not make really awkward faces. I'm not an awkward person aside from this.
How can I not look painfully awkward in such circumstances?
Greatest hits: awkward lip movement, creepy dramatic facial expression.
(FWIW, I've already researched tips on being more photogenic, but no help there)
This problem doesn't happen when I'm in front of a mirror or with friends, but in front of a crowd or when I'm having my picture taken, I just can't be photogenic/not make really awkward faces. I'm not an awkward person aside from this.
How can I not look painfully awkward in such circumstances?
Greatest hits: awkward lip movement, creepy dramatic facial expression.
(FWIW, I've already researched tips on being more photogenic, but no help there)
Best answer: When he's singing - not that I've seen him in concert when I was younger and (more) foolish - John Mayer's face is pretty contorted.
Evidence here.
I think, as Jaltcoh suggested, that you should videotape yourself singing to see what specific faces you make so you can try and compensate.
I never realized how much I moved around and how I exaggerate my movements (in regular conversation) until I saw some videos of myself.
posted by cranberrymonger at 1:53 PM on July 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Evidence here.
I think, as Jaltcoh suggested, that you should videotape yourself singing to see what specific faces you make so you can try and compensate.
I never realized how much I moved around and how I exaggerate my movements (in regular conversation) until I saw some videos of myself.
posted by cranberrymonger at 1:53 PM on July 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
I do this too and my dad always tricked me into looking great/at least normal in photos by getting me to genuinely laugh. Think of something that truly moves you to ROFLing and you'll probably get a good, genuine smile out of it. However, if you are trying to recreate American Gothic idk what to tell you...
posted by ShadePlant at 2:06 PM on July 28, 2010
posted by ShadePlant at 2:06 PM on July 28, 2010
Also, my faces are so bad my brother refers to them as "Shadeplant's rictus" photos.
posted by ShadePlant at 2:07 PM on July 28, 2010
posted by ShadePlant at 2:07 PM on July 28, 2010
Best answer: How do you know you make awkward faces when you sing? From looking at photographs of yourself singing? Because if that's how, you should know that it's really, really easy to look strange in photos when you're singing. If watching video of yourself makes you cringe, it could be that you're self-conscious and self-critical. If it's your friends telling you, then maybe you do have something to work on. And possibly that something is just learning to be comfortable while performing, or when in front of the camera.
Honestly, though, at least as far as the singing goes, unless you're a performer who's getting feedback that facial expressions are a weakness in your performing style, I'm going to suggest that you not worry about it. It sounds to me like the root of your problem is self-consciousness about being observed, and it's easy to make that worse if you think about it too much.
So working on it should be fun. Be ridiculous and over the top on purpose. Play with cameras and performance. Do a mock photo shoot with a friend. Sing something completely ludicrous at karaoke. Goof around, ham it up, make stupid faces. Get comfortable with the idea that you're not always going to look perfect, but if you look like you're enjoying yourself, nobody's really going to care.
Also, how's your posture? Good posture goes a long way to improving your presence in photos and on stage. Dance lessons and yoga are good for improving posture if you want to work on that.
Just remember: it's very, very likely that no one is anywhere as near as critical of you as you are of yourself.
posted by EvaDestruction at 2:24 PM on July 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Honestly, though, at least as far as the singing goes, unless you're a performer who's getting feedback that facial expressions are a weakness in your performing style, I'm going to suggest that you not worry about it. It sounds to me like the root of your problem is self-consciousness about being observed, and it's easy to make that worse if you think about it too much.
So working on it should be fun. Be ridiculous and over the top on purpose. Play with cameras and performance. Do a mock photo shoot with a friend. Sing something completely ludicrous at karaoke. Goof around, ham it up, make stupid faces. Get comfortable with the idea that you're not always going to look perfect, but if you look like you're enjoying yourself, nobody's really going to care.
Also, how's your posture? Good posture goes a long way to improving your presence in photos and on stage. Dance lessons and yoga are good for improving posture if you want to work on that.
Just remember: it's very, very likely that no one is anywhere as near as critical of you as you are of yourself.
posted by EvaDestruction at 2:24 PM on July 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
If you try the mirror thing, just be careful you don't give yourself a new problem. I did this to train myself not to make weird faces while playing guitar, and I ended up with a creepy fixed stare instead.
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 2:27 PM on July 28, 2010
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 2:27 PM on July 28, 2010
As a musician, I'm well aware of how terrible the facial expressions are that go with concentration. Photos of me playing are always horrendous. When I started playing on stage, I went to great lengths to transform my default face from "contorted in anguishing mental acrobatics" to "zombie-like blankness" - the only times I ever looked good was when I wasn't in my own head, but was interacting with other band members. Singers, on the other hand, almost always look terrible mid-note, because the physical act of good singing is a different mouth motion than anything "natural".
So, like ShadePlant says, a genuine laugh looks much better than anything you can conciously do to your expression. But you can't do that for very long. I'll ask for one piece of clarification - are you talking about 15 seconds of posing for a photo, or about candid photos being taken over the course of a little while, and you're aware of them, but can't stop and smile at the camera each time?
posted by aimedwander at 2:34 PM on July 28, 2010
So, like ShadePlant says, a genuine laugh looks much better than anything you can conciously do to your expression. But you can't do that for very long. I'll ask for one piece of clarification - are you talking about 15 seconds of posing for a photo, or about candid photos being taken over the course of a little while, and you're aware of them, but can't stop and smile at the camera each time?
posted by aimedwander at 2:34 PM on July 28, 2010
When he's singing - not that I've seen him in concert when I was younger and (more) foolish - John Mayer's face is pretty contorted.
John Mayer also does it in the video for "No Such Thing," at least in the falsetto parts ("top of my lungs"). It's not that bad -- sort of a Tom Hanks-like goofiness. Clearly they thought it was fine enough to leave in a professionally produced video. Facial mannerisms while singing aren't necessarily bad -- they could add character. Sorry if this isn't helpful, but it's one perspective you could take.
posted by Jaltcoh at 2:42 PM on July 28, 2010
John Mayer also does it in the video for "No Such Thing," at least in the falsetto parts ("top of my lungs"). It's not that bad -- sort of a Tom Hanks-like goofiness. Clearly they thought it was fine enough to leave in a professionally produced video. Facial mannerisms while singing aren't necessarily bad -- they could add character. Sorry if this isn't helpful, but it's one perspective you could take.
posted by Jaltcoh at 2:42 PM on July 28, 2010
Also, it's just freaking hard to not move your face while doing stuff. I suppose with practice in front of a mirror you could pick out a frozen facial expression and put it on automatic every time someone points a camera at you, but I don't think that's gonna work while you sing. You might just have to live with it and/or have it as a running joke. Faces don't always look pretty when they're suddenly immobilized in a photo.
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:50 PM on July 28, 2010
posted by jenfullmoon at 2:50 PM on July 28, 2010
Whenever my musician buddy is in town I try to get photos of her performances. The last bunch I gave her, via Facebook, she and her fellow performers tagged and mocked themselves relentlessly. Both singing and fiddle playing moments were full of goofy looks, and these people make good money doing close-up shows. It's hardly noticeable if you aren't getting it on camera and reviewing it later. For that part, I'm not sure anything you try won't make it worse.
posted by SMPA at 5:55 PM on July 28, 2010
posted by SMPA at 5:55 PM on July 28, 2010
Get over it. Everyone thinks this. Actually, you've got it easy. I make awkward faces whenever I have a face.
posted by cmoj at 8:11 PM on July 28, 2010 [6 favorites]
posted by cmoj at 8:11 PM on July 28, 2010 [6 favorites]
I do this too. My husband calls it Photo Disease. For a while, he tried to get me to laugh by making goofy noises, which just pissed me off so that I looked angry in most pictures. Now, though, those noises crack up our toddler, which makes me smile for real.
So if you can think about your puppy doing something silly, your toddler laughing, a particularly funny lolcat or something, that ought to help.
posted by GardenGal at 9:13 PM on July 28, 2010
So if you can think about your puppy doing something silly, your toddler laughing, a particularly funny lolcat or something, that ought to help.
posted by GardenGal at 9:13 PM on July 28, 2010
Best answer: I was just talking about this last week with a friend who is a wedding photographer. His advice to people is to not try to smile, but to simply relax your mouth and smile with your eyes (Tyra Banks calls it: smizing")
posted by vespabelle at 9:39 PM on July 28, 2010
posted by vespabelle at 9:39 PM on July 28, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Does this include singing in front of a mirror?
If not, I recommend singing in front of a mirror whenever you're practicing singing alone.
posted by Jaltcoh at 1:29 PM on July 28, 2010