Don’t say cheese unless you really want to

I could never find my camera smile, especially if I was forced to say cheese.

As a child, everyone says say cheese like it’s going to twist your mouth up into the right position to reflect happiness. Umm…no – it really doesn’t work that way folks.

Say cheese never worked for me – and I suspect it doesn’t work for others either. I guess, if I was a naturally outgoing bubbly personality I could go big and SAY CHEESE proudly and vibrantly…and just illuminate myself from the inside out to reflect the happiest of spirit and a naturally easy going smile.

Yeah, no. Again, I wouldn’t say I was a bubbly person, and I certainly wasn’t a bubbly kid.

Need evidence? One of those lovely childhood snapshots where I just glowed with confidence

That was me…all sunshine and happiness at the ripe age of about 7. Pigtails and a brownie uniform. (I actually loved that little coin purse on the belt though)

Ok, back to point. What if the person in the photo doesn’t smile easily? Can the photo still be good? Will something like say cheese ever work?

Well…most likely not..so why are we pushing it?

Whatever the personality of the subject is, it should be reflected in their images. Not everyone is a smiler, not everyone is easy going and bubbly. And that is ok.

It’s ok to not smile in a photo, even if they say cheese

It’s ok to be thoughtful, quiet, even serious in a photo. It’s ok to smile small, or smile big. It’s ok – as long as you are comfortable. And if you aren’t comfortable with a big smile, then don’t force it. We can’t make a real photo of a person when we make them command a smile with “say cheese”.

Don’t say cheese if you don’t want to. It’s ok. Just tell them I said it was ok….

I have had MANY MANY great photos of kids that didn’t take smile

See for yourself why it’s NOT all about smiles in my senior portfolio.