Headshots for your business are very important. They should give a little insight into your personality to not only your colleagues but your potential clients and customers as well.  
Every day we work with headshot clients who are unsure of their smile. Yes it can be something with teeth—if you are self conscious of your teeth we will help you smile without showing your teeth. With that you want to look pleasant and not mad or in pain.

But by and large even people with great teeth struggle with knowing how to smile. Most of us learned the “say Cheese” smile as a little kid—I’m surprised that many adults continue this smile of gritted teeth. That usually makes you look like an adult doing a little kid smile.

So how do you smile? The best smiles include the eyes. You want to look engaging in your photos so work that smile into your eyes. Your cheeks will raise and your eyes should relax and squint just a tiny bit as you smile naturally. You want to smile with your upper teeth either apart from the lower teeth or just touching your lower lip (see photos above). You may want to either think of happy thought or something that makes you smile (like your kids or your animals—animals usually do the trick —many people have that one cat or dog that makes them laugh).

Sometimes it doesn’t hurt to practice in a mirror. Relax, take in a deep breath and shut your eyes. Think of something that makes you happy. Open your eyes as you exhale and smile at that happy thought.

There is nothing worse in a headshot than a fake smile—most can tell when you’re faking it as the smile never reaches your eyes. A good smile—with or without teeth will help you look confident as well as approachable in your headshot.