About

Shake Face is a participatory photo meme that involves taking pictures while shaking head from side to side, which reveals very amusing pictures of people with their lips and cheeks stretched in funny shapes.

Origin

According to Urban Dictionary, it is defined as: "To shake the face violently from side to side for the purpose of humour. This moment is performed for the camera to break up the monotony of the scenic photos. It can be classed as pure genius entertainment."

Spread

The art of shake face photography has been a cultural icon since at least 2003, where pictures began popping up on various internet websites. Several websites have since been dedicated to shake face pictures, some hosting weekly voting and prizes. One of the most popular of these sites is shakeyourface.com which contains over 650 user uploaded photos of themselves with their best shake face.

Derivatives

Several derivatives have been created with the basic shake face motion in mind. These include the fake slap, fake kick, fake punch, and group shake (see photographs below). Recently (2010), there has been an increase in shake face photographs with the catch phrase "Derp" being affiliated with them. This adds a psychological dynamic to the photographs and significantly increases the comedic value of the image alone.