Emotions in Facial Expressions

 Something I hear all too often is "I never like pictures of me, because I'm never making the face that I think I'm making".

So, how do you evict emotions in facial expression?

To create descriptions for these I stood in front of a mirror and kept thinking about things that made me feel these ways and took notes as to how I personally responded to each stimuli, while some people may express emotions visually differently than another...I believe that unless you're Kristen Stewart there's a pretty good chance that there are strong similarities in what I described...and how you show it.

Annoyed - Eyebrows scrunched, slight pursing of lips, intense stare at person/object annoyed at.

Interest - Attentive eyes, head slightly cocked with a slight squinting of the eyes.

Joy - Eyes fully open (no squint), very slight tilt of the neck, almost a grin on the face.

Surprise - Eyebrows lifted fully exposing more of the eye than is usually seen, head slightly forward, jaw on the floor.

Fear - Head pulled back and slightly turned away from source of fear, slight tilt of head.

Boredom - Head tilted slightly backward and titled to side, shoulders shrugged.

Awe - Mouth half open, gentle raise in eyebrows, eyes slightly opened.

Admiration - More of a grin in the lips, "grin with the eyes", very slight close in eyelids to show focus of admiration.

Love - More intense admiration, closed mouth grin, dimples (if available), under eye wrinkles (constriction in cheeks creates a tug between the lower eyelid and the cheeks making barely noticeable wrinkles under the eye more apparent).

Serenity - Eyes closed, head tilted back slightly and slightly to the side, shoulders back, open acceptance.