Who else has a child who always forces a smile for every picture? My 5 y/o DS does this and it never looks natural! It's comical but no matter how much we try to make him smile during a picture he still forces it! I hope there are those who will know what I mean!
My DS has such an incredible smile and I would love to capture it for a family photo. The only way my DH and I can get that shot is by taking a picture without him knowing. Basically a candid shot. Don't get me wrong those are great too. In every family photo that has been taken he just has this "pushed out chin, eyes opened wide, big teeth smile, " that is precious but.... LOL!!
Anyway, once he sees the camera, he forces the smile.
Who can relate??? Any wonderful Mom tips?
I can relate!
This year all 3 of my kids have forced smiles in their school pics...it is a bummer, especially when you know their real smiles are so much better!
But what can you do? When we are taking pics and my kids do that I usually tell them not to smile at all...I would much rather have their real straight face then the goofy mugging of a fake smile.
My niece does this also, right now it is cute, she is 3. The thing is her Dad does it also so we think it must be hereditary. lol If you catch them in a candid they have beautiful smiles just not in a pose. :-)
My son does that. He's a comedian to boot... so he has a whole RANGE of forced/fake smiles. Sigh.
The GREAT thing is that a good photographer takes so many pictures and talks so much that people (even kids) relax and start using real smiles. School photographers can't do this (3 seconds, boom, next), and as a mom I rarely have time or patience... so I catch him candid all the time. I think my fave this year is him on a treebranch. Although some of my favorites ALSO include times when I DID have the time and kiddo ran out of patience with ME and "charged" the camera. Lion growling faces are so rarely caught on film, that I find them just as precious as that true *great* smile. I mean, temper tantrums are annoying at the time... but looking back on toddler years before I had a great digital camera, there are a lot of moments I only have in my memories.
Digital rocks my world. I only get about 1 good shot in 50... so I have tons of good one of him. Could NEVER have afforded to do that in film.
Not only does my son do this, but my best friend does, too (and she's in her late 20s!) I have very few pictures of her truly smiling, and it's sad.
I have found (with my son - no idea what to do about my friend) that a really good professional photographer can capture a child's true smile. Take your son somewhere where they have toys and props on the set, and where the photographer tells jokes and captures kids naturally. Sometimes you'll only get one or two good pictures out of an entire sitting, but that can be enough! Good luck!
I work in a private school, and one of the things we do when kids come in to test for K is take a picture. Believe me, it is the age. The greatest majority of kids this age do it. I usually say something silly to get a genuine smile. Boys smile at "gross" things, I usually say "Does your Dad have stinky feet?" and If that doesn't work, I say "I bet YOU have stinky feet, don't you?" Girls smile at emotional type things, like "Do you have a kitty at home? What is your kitty's name?" and that's usually all it takes for them.
Oh boy, the fake smile ;) ... and it's the school pictures that are the worst!! They always have that slight constipated look, don't they? LOL, gotta love 'em, though.
We've tried having our daughter give herself a good belly laugh before taking the picture, that seems to loosen her smile up a bit. It looks weird to laugh like a loon before taking every picture, but it's better than the usual end result!
DS #3 is the same way!! It gets fustering at times when trying to take a great family picture of the kiddos. Everyone has a great smile... then his. The only way to get the "great smile" is to get him to laugh... then of course the others are laughing also. Wouldn't be a big deal but our 3yr old is the wide open mouth belly laugh every time. So all of our family pics of the kids are 4 great smiles and one "forced" or 4 great smiles and one wide mouth laughing. But they are all precious and make for some great pictures and memories :)
Our son's school pictures always look this way. He hates to smile for pictures and when he does, it's just as you described.
What worked last time for our own formal pics was a great photographer. She had the kids say "Stinky Feet" and our son thought it was hilarious. She got some genuine smiles from that.
I can relate. Big time. Every school photo from nursery school through his current 2nd grade pic is "that" smile! haha
If I'm behind the camera, I tell him to think about farts or burps or Krabby patties (boys!) and I get a "real" smile out of him!
My 8 year old has been doing it for a while. It doesn't seem to really stop, since my 22 and 27 year old brothers do it to. Come to think of it, so does my 34 year old husband.
My advice? You gotta get 'em when they are not paying attention, which is what you are already doing! Other than that, you will have fond memories of the "silly" that boys especially seem to go through!
L.
I can totally relate! What worked for me is to say something completely obnoxiously silly or funny at the time of the picture. Then you get a genuine smile and not the forced one. Say something completely immature that your five year old will just LOVE hearing from you----and it will work like a charm.
M
When I was a little girl I faked smiled in most of my pictures, until I was about 6 or 7. My family and I laugh at those photos today, I looked so silly, LOL! My mother even had the nerve to show those pictures to my husband-to-be when we still dating -- I was mortified then, but, again, it made for good laughs later.
I would not do anything about. Think of it as that funny/cute thing your little one does and you'll always have something to laugh about in th future.
My 4 year old son is like that. Too.
My daughter is not and will smile naturally.
Just the other day, my son took a photo with a Hawaii FIve-0 celebrity... just so happened. My son, was there, FORCING a smile, although he was SO stoked to be with Alex O'Loughlin... and even with a forced wide excited smile, it was cute.
It is precious, still.
all the best,
Susan
Yup! The only pics that I can get of my 2.5 year old are candids. Because if I call his name and he sees that I am taking a picture he does the cheesy "cheeeeeeeeeeeeeese" face.
Practice in the mirror with him. When he does the one you "like", tell him "thats it!" and have him do it over and over so he CAN do it on cue.
They all like to do the cheeze face... and it is hilarious.
Yep, just as Robin says, when you want him to smile, say something gross or pretend you are falling, tripped on something, or anything crazy like that.
I take photos of adults and children, and most of us have a difficult time smiling for a photo. Folks of all ages seems to relax and smile when asked: "Who do you love?" Whatever they say, it will be with genuinely smiling eyes and mouth.
