There are a few key reasons why models often keep their mouth slightly open in photoshoots and on the runway. Firstly, keeping the mouth open can create a more alluring or sultry look. Parting the lips ever so slightly evokes a sense of casual sensuality. Secondly, having the mouth open helps models convey various emotions more easily. With the mouth agape, models can more readily express feelings like surprise, awe, excitement, playfulness, joy, and others. An open mouth allows the face to be more animated and convey a wider range of human emotions.
Thirdly, an open mouth helps create a more youthful appearance. When the lips are parted, it creates the illusion of fuller, plumper lips, which is associated with youth and vitality. Models often keep their mouths open to tap into this effect and maintain a fresh, young look. Lastly, keeping the mouth open ensures the face and jawline appear taut and well-defined. With lips parted, the jaw muscles remain engaged to prevent the mouth from closing, creating sculpted dimension in the lower face. Overall, the strategic gaping of the mouth helps models achieve the stunning, alluring, and youthful look for which they are known.
The Alluring Look
One of the most common reasons models keep their mouths open in photographs is to create an alluring, sensual mood. With lips slightly parted, the mouth takes on an intimation of receptiveness and availability. Open lips connote a sense of soft vulnerability, creating an aura of approachability and allure. This tantalizing quality amplifies the models’ attractiveness in a subtle, organic way. Unlike a forced, toothy smile, a natural gaping of the mouth has an unplanned sensuality that heightens feminine beauty.
The origins of the alluring power of an open mouth date back centuries. In art history, women portrayed with open mouths were seen as exuding carnal desire, earthly pleasure, and sexual appetite. From Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus to Manet’s Olympia, a mouth softly agape on a female has signified captivating sensuality. Contemporary fashion photography channels this same energy today. An open mouth creates a raw yet refined sex appeal perfect for editorials and fashion art.
For models, parting the lips ever so slightly evokes this powerful, timeless effect. An open mouth sets a sultry tone filled with intimate possibility. With mouths agape, models gain mystique and intrigue. Viewers are curious about the implied backstory and drawn into the narrative created. The mouth no longer passive but rather active in its message. This compelling dynamic empowers models with agency and vibrancy.
Overall, a strategically open mouth allows models to tap into centuries of artistic meaning. With the slightest gap between the lips, a sensual mood is established instantly. Models can create images with palpable passion and energy simply by parting their mouths. It’s a subtle yet enormously impactful stylistic choice for models seeking to project beauty with confidence.
Conveying Emotion
Another key reason models often keep their mouths open is to more readily convey emotion and feeling. With mouths agape, models can portray a wider range of human sentiments and experiences. Rather than a stiff, tight-lipped smile, an open mouth allows the face to show expression, playfulness, surprise, joy, laughter, excitement, and more. Gap lips create opportunity for models to connect with audiences through authentic and relatable emotions.
One of the most basic feelings portrayed with an open mouth is happiness. A mouth open in delight or laughter immediately reads as joyful to the viewer. Teeth showing through parted lips signal spontaneous fun and amusement. Likewise, an open mouth can convey awe and wonder. With lips agape, models beam innocence in moments of fascination and new discovery. Models also use open mouths to exhibit surprise, fear, or shock, with viewers easily able to read the associated emotional state.
In addition to conveying clear moods, an open mouth adds flavor and personality to facial expressions. Subtle shifts in lip position showcase playfulness, sarcasm, cheekiness, silliness, and other tones. An open mouth provides freedom for more animated communication compared to closed, pursed lips. This allows models to establish connection and share narratives through their emotional openness.
Ultimately, the simple act of parting lips grants models valuable flexibility. With mouths open rather than sealed shut, models have endless options for engaging viewers through relatable, compelling sentiments. Emotional expressiveness empowers models to build intimate rapport unaffected by barriers of culture or language. There is a universality in displaying raw human feeling through the open mouth. For models seeking meaningful connection, leaving lips unzipped offers a direct avenue for making an impression.
Youthful Appearance
In addition to allure and emotional expressiveness, models also keep their mouths open to maintain a fresh, youthful appearance. With lips parted, models create the illusion of larger, plumper lips associated with vitality and youth. Open mouths also prevent thinning of the lips that naturally occurs with age. This lip plumping optical effect provides an instant facial rejuvenation perfect for photo shoots.
One of the most prominent signs of youth is a full, smooth lip line. As skin ages, lips lose structure and definition. Keeping the mouth open counteracts this aging effect by stretching the lips and surrounding muscles. The tensed mouth creates the appearance of firm, youthful plumpness. Models cleverly employ this technique, knowing an open mouth communicates vigor and innocence.
In addition to creating larger-looking lips, an open mouth also unveils more of the teeth and gumline. With lips parted, the mouth interior becomes more visible. Younger-looking gums and full sets of teeth get displayed, symbols that reflect health and good genes. Lips sealed shut, on the other hand, obscure these youthful mouth features. So by simply parting their lips, models reveal signs of vitality.
Lastly, an open mouth prevents thin vertical lip lines from forming with age. As mouths close, lips press together and wrinkles gradually emerge. An open mouth avoids this, keeping the lips smooth and wrinkle-free. The combination of plumper-looking lips, exposed gumline, and creaseless texture provides models with an instant facial rewind. With mouths strategically agape, models turn back the clock and project a starry-eyed dynamism perfect for cameras.
Sculpting the Face
The last major reason models keep their mouths open is to create a sculpted, well-defined lower face and jawline. With lips parted, models must engage their jaw muscles to prevent the mouth from closing. This muscular engagement creates tension that chisels and sculpts the face. Sealed lips, on the other hand, allow the lower face to slacken, losing dimension.
Specifically, having the mouth agape flexes the mentalis muscle under the chin, the masseter muscles along the jaw, and the orbicularis oris muscles surrounding the lips. This combination of flexed muscles provides edgy definition and architecture to the lower face. The tensed look adds contouring that takes facial features from soft to strikingly chiseled.
In addition, parting the lips stretches the mouth horizontally, preventing down-turned corners that can drag the face into a saggy droop. Open mouths must maintain width to keep lips separated, lifting up the facial canvas. Models cleverly employ this visual trick, knowing an open mouth sculpts the ideal V-shaped chin and jaw for a feminine but edgy look.
Finally, having the mouth open changes the airflow and consequently facial expression. Increased air intake creates more taughtness throughout the cheeks and face. Faces appear more alert and awake. At the same time, a more intense gaze often accompanies an open mouth, upping the model’s presence and gravitas. Together, these air flow effects generate tauter, more dazzling facial dimension perfect for photographs.
Ultimately, models can give their faces an instant boost simply by dropping their jaws. The mouth ajar, the lower face activates, resulting in a gym workout for all the tiny muscles that define beauty. Models have mastered this simple yet hugely impactful trick for ensuring they look their best in front of the camera lens and beyond.
Types of Open Mouth Poses
While there are many reasons models keep their mouths open, they employ different types of open mouth poses to achieve different looks. Here are some of the most common open mouth poses used in modeling and fashion photography:
The Closed-Mouth Smile
One popular style is the closed-mouth smile with parted lips. This shows upper teeth while keeping the lips gently sealed. It conveys joy and approachability. This works well for lifestyle editorials and commercial advertising where a friendly tone is desired.
Upper and Lower Teeth
Models also reveal both upper and lower teeth for a full, toothy smile. This signals unabashed happiness and fun. It’s common in more playful, youthful shoots.
Upper Teeth Only
Some poses part the upper lip enough to show just the top teeth. This maintains some sensuality from the parted lower lip. The upper flash of teeth adds sporty confidence and approachability.
The Pout
Models pout their lower lip forward while parting just the upper lip. This evokes sultriness and allure. The pout is a favorite for high fashion editorials and art photography.
Open Lips
Finally models simply open the mouth with both upper and lower lips parted. This versatile pose works for conveying surprise, joy, laughter, awe, and other emotions.
Advantages of the Open Mouth
Beyond providing various looks, keeping the mouth open comes with distinct advantages for models during photoshoots, including:
- Conveys desirable emotions
- Creates alluring, sensual mood
- Allows more versatility and animation
- Provides illusion of plumper, younger-looking lips
- Reveals teeth and gumline as signs of health
- Prevents wrinkles around the mouth
- Defines the jawline and chin
- Adds dimension and sculpture to lower face
- Appears more alert with activated expression
Together, these effects allow models to maximize their physical beauty in photographs while establishing deeper connections through emotion and storytelling. The simple act of parting lips makes a surprisingly immense impact.
Potential Challenges
While an open mouth has multiple advantages, models should also be aware of a few potential challenges, including:
- Can dry out the lips and mouth
- May provoke skin wrinkling around mouth
- Requires conscious muscular effort to sustain
- Can feel unnatural or uncomfortable at first
- Risk of unattractive wide gape if taken too far
To counteract these issues, models should stay hydrated, apply lip balm before shoots, start with a subtle mouth opening, and experiment to find their most comfortable gaping position. With practice, the look becomes second nature.
Best Practices
To master the art of the open mouth, models should remember these key tips:
- Part lips subtly rather than an extreme opening
- Allow both upper and lower teeth to show slightly
- Relax the rest of the face while mouth is active
- Work on jaw comfort and strength to avoid straining
- Use throat spray and lip balm to avoid dryness
- Drink water regularly to keep the mouth moisturized
- Practice different positions to find your most flattering gape
With the right techniques, models can achieve perfect execution every time. An alluring, alluring open mouth presence becomes effortless.
In Closing
From sensuality to self-expression, models have many incentives for parting their lips during photoshoots. As demonstrated, a strategically open mouth allows models to project alluring beauty, animated emotion, and sculpted youthfulness ideal for edgy fashion imagery. With some practice and foresight, models can use the gaping mouth to take their looks from standard to standout. When the mouth is activated, new possibilities emerge. So next time you see a model with lips apart, recognize it’s likely an intentional, tactical choice for amplifying their vanity, intrigue, and allure.