Telling someone to smile in a portrait sitting can cause them to tighten up to an extent that recovery is impossible. It can end the sitting. Telling a child to smile and not realizing the child is tightening up can cause a child to be reluctant to be photographed again. It has caused some of the worst parent-child meltdowns that I have seen. I’ve seen some doozies.
Do I ever tell anyone to smile? Yes. After I have an established relationship with an older subject and they are relaxed I will sometimes try to coach a particular expression out of them. This is only with a subject at least in their mid teens and after I have all I think I need. Even with an adult it can end a sitting. Continue reading “Never tell a subject to “smile””