Say Cheese!

This has to be the most overused and overrated phrase in photography. Can you really get a genuine smile (especially from children) when you tell people to say “cheese”? It has been my experience that saying cheese doesn’t produce the most genuine smiles.

Adults generally do a good job at smiling. Children are different because not one of them is the same as the other and their attention span is a lot shorter than adults. So Mike, how do you get kids to smiles in your pictures? The easy answer is it depends on the child and their age. I use a lot of different tactics to get kids to smile, but the tactics that I use usually depend on the child’s personality. A feather on the chin might work for a 1-year old but would it really work for a 10-year old?

Funny faces and funny noises usually work really well. Kids also like to be challenged…. “I bet you can’t smile”. Short jokes also work too. Kids love peek-a-boo as well.

The main thing is do whatever you have to do to get the child to laugh. I believe that when a child laughs it produces the most genuine and innocent smile and if captured correctly could be a lifetime memory you treasure for years to come.

Bringing a helper also helps. When I photograph children I usually like to bring a helper because they can do the funny faces and funny noises while I concentrate on capturing the moment.