Heart-warming World Smile Day Activities to Brighten Your Day

World Smile Day is celebrated on the first Friday of October. The idea of celebrating this day was proposed by Harvey Ball, who made the smiley face. Smiling shows how you feel to others and it’s especially important in pictures. If you want to add a smile to already taken photos, you can try our smile editor app and make all your images full of fun.

Harvey Ball is an artist who created the image of a smiley face for a local firm in 1963. The design was never registered as a trademark, so other people started just using it. A smiley face is a famous symbol that eventually turned into the emoji we all use nowadays.

Ball didn’t mind that his design became so famous. He was, however, worried that people might forget what the smiley face really meant. So, in 1999 he started World Smile Day. The event is celebrated every year to spread some joy and lift people’s moods.

The goal of this day is simply to spread joy and make people smile through World Smile Day activities. There are endless ways to show kindness and compassion. It can be as small as buying a child their favorite treat, a balloon, or a toy.

This day lets you take a moment from your busy life and do something to spread happiness. Some World Smile Day activities that are sure to bring a smile to your face:

• Spend a whole day with your parents and create happy memories together
• Cook your friends their most-loved dish
• Join a World Smile Day gathering with your family
• Go to an orphanage and spend time with the kids. You could bring along some little sweet treats or toys for them too
• Sponsor a child’s education or treatment

If you’re a portrait photographer, it's important to know how to make people smile naturally for photos. As a person in front of the lens, I know for sure that sometimes it is so hard to make a smile appear unforced.

Whether you show your teeth or try to get that Mona Lisa smile, it can be tough not to look awkward unless you're a professional model.

If you're not happy with how your picture turned out, you can use our portrait editing service.

You know how people used to say "cheese" to make you smile in pictures? Well, that's a thing of the past. It makes your smile look fake. Instead, try saying "money" when someone takes your picture. This movement of the lips makes your smile look natural. Although, I must admit, sometimes the thought of money does make you smile for real.

This is one of the oldest tricks to smile naturally. When you're getting ready for a photo, think about an event or a person that makes you happy. For example, think about fun memories from when you were a kid.

Another great technique to get relaxed is to have a little bit of fun. If you’re the one having your pictures taken, try making funny sounds with your lips or shaking your head. You can also do a silly dance, sing something- whatever makes you feel relaxed and happy. This will help you stop focusing on the camera, and your smile will appear more natural.

Just like thinking about something that makes you happy, you can also picture someone who makes you smile. Imagine someone you really like taking pictures of you while you're posing. It could be your mom, your friend, someone famous like Taylor Swift or Angelina Jolie, or even a cartoon character.

If you want to smile more during a photo session, you can ask the photographer to share a funny photography pun. Or, if you want to, take a short break to tell a joke yourself. This will help you relax and might even encourage your photographer to tell a joke, too. It's a fun way to boost your mood and bring smiles to both your and photographer's faces.

You might want to practice in front of a mirror before you get in front of the camera. That will actually help you familiarize yourself with the face and get the smile that best suits the shoot and the purpose because the smile you need for a wedding photo is not the same you need for your corporate shoot. It is a good way to prepare yourself on the day of the shoot.

Instead of using a mirror, you can also practice smiling by taking selfies at home before the photo session. It’s a common way to see your best angle, how often you close eyes, etc. And they don't have to be professional, these photos, do it with your phone to decide which one you want to have and show a photographer on the next day. Try different smiles, head/hands poses to find the perfect combination that you are a bit more comfortable with.