Real Vs. Fake Smiles

Tips for eliminating Fake smiles

Kids are completely unpredictable. They can be so adorable and easy going and laughing uncontrollably one minute, and the next minute, turn that charm off completely. They will typically smile for you all day long until you put them in front of a camera, then they freeze up like a deer in headlights. We want to avoid the gritted teeth and bug-eyed forced smiles during our session.

Here are some things you can do to help all of us have a fantastic session and guarantee that the smiles that I capture are genuine smiles and not forced. If you have any other ideas/suggestions please feel free to comment on the post and I can add them for future clients. My goal is to capture the best memories possible for you and your family.

Here are some things you can do:

1. Make a list of things that your child thinks are funny and send it to us prior to the session. This way, we can be prepared and add these things into our bag of tricks.

2. Also give us a list of icebreakers for your child. Tell us the kinds of shows they watch, music they listen to, friends’ names, favorite story, etc. This will give us something to talk to them about, and will help them forget they’re in front of the camera.

3. Practice phrases at home to see which ones evoke the best smiles from your child. (Please, oh please, avoid “Say cheese!” unless that really works for you child.)

4. Try out a couple of jokes with them. During the session, we can ask them to tell us a joke and this will typically loosen them up as they tell it to us.

5. If there is a song that your child loves, load it up to your phone and bring it along with you, or be prepared to sing it for them during the session.

6. Prepare a Incentive (such as a toy, a trip to the zoo, etc.) and show it to them, or remind them of it, during the session. ( See my article on Incentives at photography sessions)