Both good points. I think if you only pick Polly Anna pictures for your profile then you are putting up a plastic view of yourself. We are all human and some of us have had more than our fair share of pain for sure.

But maybe if it is a shy or even pensive smile a smile will let people see that, that is still you on your good days, and that is ok as a first impression. You really don't want a pity vote or someone to say this person is going to be too much work to just get a little civil communication out of. And that is all a modest polite smile is.

When people get intimate with you and have the honor of really knowing you they will know you were just being polite and maybe a little co-operative. Charles has a very nice lead shot. Not overly commercial but definitely not threatening. Being approachable is what get your profile in the door that first three seconds.

If people only knew how much I loath having my picture taken they would know how many were deleted to get the few I have. But play around with your camera and or carry a disposable around and ask a waiter or venue staff to take a few snaps when you are just out with friends or enjoying a good meal. Heck take pictures in the garden shop somewhere; the natural light will often flatter. Eventually it won't feel so foreign and you will have some pictures to choose from. And there is no law against using a studio picture. What are you out for the coupon shot? Not that much. It just tells people I invested in the process because I want it to work. That is a pretty good compliment to start and exchange with.

thank you,your dead on,,love to smile,,just dont when iam taking a selfie i guess,never really thought about it,

I agree with you, we all gotta

Smiling is infectious, you catch it like the flu,
When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too,
I passed around the corner and someone saw me grin,
when he smiled I realised I passed it on to him.
I thought about that smile then realised what it's worth,
A single smile, just like mine could travel round the earth.
So, if you feel a smile begin don't leave it undetected,
Let's start an epidemic quickly, and get the world infected.

Unknown

Just went back and looked at my photos, one is of my Alaska Cabins, but the other 15 are of me doing something or getting ready to do something....come on folks get a life, get out and do something besides standing in front of your mirror, then you will be smiling.....Life is Good!

I sometimes find it looks sexy. Unusual me. A man I once knew, used to give me a cold stare. I was never sure if he was trying to give me an evil stare, or a sexy stare. Either way, it looked hot.

He was probably trying to imagine what you would taste like grilled and slathered in barbecue sauce!

. Well, I'm probably as thin
as a spare rib, so that might not be far from the truth.

I have a few photos where I don't exactly look like my normal "Mr. sushine" self, but I dont think people will mistake my main profile pic (which changes up from time to time because I like variety) for me representing myself as mirthless or grumpy or angry at the world or dark...but I do acknowledge that everyone, including myself, has those sides to them.
I kinda of like the profiles that kind of show off those multifaceted sides to themselves, in a way.
An introspective shot here (ooooh, what is she thinking?), a shot of her looking off into the distance (again curious whats on her mind), a pic of her doing outdoor activity (she hikes too? sweet!), or maybe reading her favorite book at a cafe, throwing a frisbee with a friend, playing with her dog, running a 4k, mountain climbing, traveling to other countries, cities...
you know? an actual life she puts effort into having that shows in her profile.
But if she's frowning in ALL of her photos, and the focus tends to be only on her own vanity...yeah, try harder.

Whoa, did I get critical for a few seconds there. My bad, continue, ladies and gents!

The sun is in my eyes in my profile pic.. No anger, but it is a real pic..

I think some people are more concerned about getting "That Perfect" picture that most photos do not show any personality whatsoever... If you Look closely you can see them taking that selfie and they are so concentrated on the right angle enterta they forgot to smile.......

Some men's like watching horror movies like me May b that's way females won't msg me back lol!!

I think people need to be mindful of how they appear to others when they are not smiling.

It's not their fault sometimes, It's just how the features on their face come together. They think their face is in a resting pose , but in reality they look like they are on their 3rd jail sentence.

There is a term that has been coined for this phenomenon,

It's called "resting bitsh face"

I look downright mean when I am not smiling

really

Some of us are really insecure and worry bout it and some of us are not used to it x

Lovely quote x

Lovely quote x

Thanks Tmommy
couldn't have said it any better..here! here!

Well, if I posted a pic of me smiling I'm sure there would still be all kinds of other petty dislikes that would negate it. Like I'm wearing a camo shirt, or my glasses aren't right, or I have a beard, or my hair is grey, or my teeth aren't perfectly white, etc, etc. Jeez, some people are overly picky.

Here, why don't y'all pick apart this guy's non-smiling pic...