Laughter is often the best medicine, particularly in these hyper stressful times – it’s actually a great way to relieve stress, and that’s no joke! Research has shown that laughter can reduce anxiety, improve affect, and reduce depression. Recent studies have also shown potential physiological improvements in the body’s immune system response, as well as relieving/reducing pain, and reducing blood pressure, at least temporarily.

My own experience supports this – I once had to give a presentation in front of an audience of over 500 people, never having presented to a group of that size. I sprinkled humor into my presentation not only to liven up the presentation, but it helped me relax a bit and provided instant stress relief.

So when people stand in front of a camera, often they’re stressed – worried about how they look, specifically all those things they don’t like about they look – and concerned that other people will see those same things and react negatively (as a side note, 99% of those fears are unfounded – most people looking at another person’s image don’t scrutinize that person’s look anywhere near as closely). And that anxiety will show in how they look. Their smile will look weird, often their eyes look like a deer in the headlights – in short, they don’t look like they normally do.

Laughter is one of the tools we use to reduce that stress and anxiety – and that actually helps people look better. Recently Rita came to my studio via the Portraits for Patriots (P4P) program – we are a nationwide group of headshot photographers providing complimentary headshots for transitioning service members. Rita is in the process of transitioning from the military to civilian life, having served for over 6 years and is in the process of getting her Master’s degree in public policy from Harvard.  And she has quite the resume – she graduated Magna Cum Laude, was on the Dean’s list all semesters – oh, and she was an academic All American for USA Rugby!

We started the session and I could see she had not really relaxed and was smiling for the camera vs. genuinely smiling. When people smile naturally, their eyes smile along with their mouth (there are other clues as well but the eyes are the major contributor) – you “believe” the smile and it looks natural. A genuine smile engages you and you feel like you want to meet the person. So we joked a bit (captured that as well) and shortly thereafter wound up with the image on the right. Her eyes are smiling, she looks genuine and has just the right amount of energy – you almost feel like you already know her.

I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to meet and work with people like Rita who are driven to help shape our future in a positive way – thank you for your service Rita and best of success in your next chapter!