“The Power of a Smile”

Last updated on: March 17, 2017 at 3:05 pm by Joseph Susanka

“The Power of a Smile” 2017-03-17T15:05:50-06:00 Joseph Susanka

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

One of the more intriguing photographic features on the National Geographic website is something called “Your Shot,” described thusly by the NG folks:

Our mission is to tell stories collaboratively through big, bold photography and expert curation. …Contribute your best photos and captions to an assignment, and our editors will handpick their favorites. The result? A published story created from your pictures and our editor commentary.

I could sift through the Your Shot blog and archives for ages, I’m pretty sure. But let’s get specific here; let’s talk about the “assignment” that grabbed my attention in the first place: “The Power of a Smile.” Sponsored (fittingly) by SmileTrain, it’s curated by Assistant Photo Editor Marie McGrory who says:

It’s Contagious — With this in mind, for this assignment I want to feel the smile. Avoid the polite, posed, studio smile. I want to feel the laughter, I want to see the incredible things and people that make you smile each day, or the fleeting moments that make the sides of your mouth curl upwards ever so slightly.

The simple act of smiling can lead to feelings of happiness. Smiling is contagious- so go spread it around and let’s see what happens.

The assignment doesn’t end until later this month, on May 26th. But it’s already brought in nearly 11,000 photos to date. And they’re fantastic. And absolutely contagious. Try going HERE and not smiling. I dare you.

Still not smiling? Try HERE. Or HERE. Or HERE.

Still nothing? HERE. And HERE. (If those last two don’t do the trick, I suggest you seek medical attention immediately.)

The NG peoples are pretty careful about photographic copyrights, so I’m not including actual images in this post. But click through, please. You won’t be sorry. I promise.

The Editor’s Favorites are the cream-of-the-crop, so click on over and start smiling up a storm. (I went with the “Slideshow” option, myself. It was almost lethally powerful.)

Photography

Previous Post

May 19, 2014

SSF: "Moving On"

Next Post

May 21, 2014 In Honor of All Those Celebrating Academic Achievements

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art Baseball Faith Family Lenten Music Movies Music No Commentary Necessary Parked By the Jukebox Photography Politics Quodlibets Streaming Video Suggestions Summa Short Films Television The Man Behind the Booth Through a Lens, Darkly

Select a Month December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 July 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 November 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz