I don’t like smiling.
I like being happy, obviously. (What a rare treat!) But even when I am, if someone is taking a photo of me in that moment, I’ll probably not look all that happy. I not only have Resting Prick Face, I often intentionally revert to it, or a softened version of it, in photos. Because I don’t want to capture my smile.
It’s pure vanity, to be honest. I want to look good in the photos people take of me, and I honestly feel like I look better when I’m grumpy. Or at least when I smile with my mouth closed.
This is what I told my photographer and filmmaker friend, who did me a great favor by taking my author photos for my book. Unfortunately there was little he could about my face. But he tried, and I appreciate that.