The only thing worse than a scowl is a smile that looks forced. If you prefer not to open your mouth and "grin," that should be your privilege. There is a compromise you can strike. For a more pleasant expression without "smiling," just lift the corners of your eyes and mouth a quarter of an inch. (Try it in front of a mirror.) That's what I recommend you do this year.

: I'm 15, and class pictures are coming soon. I think I look better in photographs when I am not smiling. If I don't smile for my school picture, though, the photographers make a fuss over it and insists upon taking it over and over until I give in and smile. I explain why I don't like to smile for pictures, but they won't listen. What can I say to them that will get them to let me look the way I want in my pictures? By the way, my parents don't care what my school picture looks like because we get professional portraits done as a family each year.