Don't Smile!

Pet Peeve number one! 

 

Parents - please don't tell your child to smile during a photo session...

 

Seriously!  When a parent says "smile" the photographer gets what is known as the "cheesy smile".  All teeth and no personality.

 

Some kids smile with their eyes and just a quick twist of the mouth. Some smile with their whole bodies.  Some don't really smile at all.  Usually I can get kids giggling and get a real smile pretty easily, but the minute mom or dad says "smile" all bets are off and now I have to work twice as hard to capture the real kid and not the cookie cutter school photo.

 

Recently I had 7 cousins for a family shoot ages 15 months to 15 years.  At first the mom of the oldest teen boy kept telling him to smile.  All I could get from him for the first 15 minutes of the shoot was "cheesy teeth" and stiff body.  I finally convinced mom that "smile" was not in my vocabulary and did eventually get a much more relaxed and happy teen.  He is one of those kids who usually smiles with a closed mouth. 

 

Can you guess which one Grandma chose?