That is too often times heard when taking pictures. Perfectly okay in its own right but sometimes does not do justice to the subject. A smile, although pleasant, changes the person’s natural features quite a bit. In some ways it obscures the natural lines in the person’s face. If you have had your fill of “say cheese” then do what I do, which is to just not use the phrase and tell the person specifically that you want their natural expression and faces.
Girl looking up at the camera (not smiling)
Especially in children, they are so programmed to smile that often I find that once I put them in front of the camera they automatically smile. I then have to direct them to be natural, which takes some work by them . It is almost a Pavlovian response today to see a camera pointed at you to smile. Once they get the hang of not smiling then the photo shoot can begin.
Having the subject not smile means that I can get a lot of off center shots of their faces that are highly expressive. This opens the door to high and low angle shots, shots offset to the right or left and creative lighting, even on toddlers and babies. The result are these very interesting and fascinating photos of faces that make you keep looking for more.
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Tags: babies, children, natural, natural lines, people, person, pictures, say cheese, smile, subject