This is my son's friend, Adam. Adam is a gem. A boy's boy, for sure. But as you can see from the above photo, he isn't too comfortable in front of a camera. Apparently not all kids are bribed from birth like my own??
Now, he was doing his best to cooperate. His mom was along side me, begging him to not fake smile. But when kids are told to smile, this is what happens.
Now, he was doing his best to cooperate. His mom was along side me, begging him to not fake smile. But when kids are told to smile, this is what happens.
Having an 8 year old boy of my own, I knew exactly what to do.
I pretended to smell something funny as I winced and yelled out, "Who farted?"
Of course, he busted up. THIS is the shot I would frame and put in my house. I love a good, whole hearted laugh photo with good catchlight in a child's eyes. Makes my heart skip a beat, and he's not even mine...
This is the smile that resulted after he relaxed and closed his mouth a bit. And this is the one that his Mama selected, simply because he has 3 sisters, and they're all posers, so it presented a more cohesive look.
So my secret? Do the unexpected. If you can't, enlist in the help of a parent or sibling if possible. I may or may not own a fart machine (Dave and Busters), which I've used from time to time during photo shoots involving boys. Crude? Maybe. I'm not sure I'd do that to a complete stranger. But it sure beats torturing him and begging him to "SMILE!"
Enjoy your weekend!
6 comments:
We just had a family photo shoot with my husband's entire family. We took tons of photos of multiple groups. I kept whispering to my kids, "Granny's naked!" and I got some real smiles too. You do what you have to do, and I may bring my fart machine on the next photo shoot if I can find it in my mess of a house. Yep, we have one too and it took a lot of cash at D&B to get it....
OMGosh, what a funny trick! Terrific pics, Trish!
Oh my goodness . . . you are a mess! I LOVE it!!! I have two boys (11 and 4) who have trouble with fake smiles from time to time. I will certainly remember your secret and Amy's too. Fart machine, hun? My kids would think that is hilarious. :)
so funny, and i love the crinkle in adam's eyes with his "real" smile. hey, if farts help, who are we to stop them?
perfect insight!
perfect photo!
thank your for sharing your gift with us...even if it is a fart.
~j
What a great idea, I will have to try that when next updating my kids portraits, not sure if they would find that as funny as teen...lol my luck they would pull a worse face. But I love the shot you got. Thanks for sharing.
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