Have you ever uttered the classic phrase “Say Cheese” whilst taking a photograph of someone? It’s time to stop! Here’s a few tips to help you kick the habit and improve your photographs.

People often wonder why they they don’t ‘photograph well’ or the pictures they take of people don’t look quite right. One of the main reasons is the ‘Cheese factor’.

A natural smile uses more than the muscles around our mouth, we smile with our whole face. When people are asked to say “Cheese”, or just asked to “Smile”, the resulting images will show a false, unnatural smile (usually all teeth) with a lack of the expression in their eyes. This, of course, is not the desired result and often leads to potentially good photographs being mediocre.

So, how do you solve this problem?

Here’s a few tips that you can try.

1. Stop saying “Cheese” or “Smile” or any other phrase that creates the forced smile.
2. Ask yourself whether the subject really needs to be smiling, or even looking into the lens.
3. If you can catch the subject off guard then go for it.
4. Talk to your subject(s) with the camera away from your face – people often feel intimidated looking into the camera and will be more relaxed looking at a face. You can move the camera up to your face at the last minute.
5. If possible, get the focusing and exposure set before you start. People will not hold a natural smile whilst you fiddle with the camera settings.
6. Don’t be afraid to press the shutter, even if it’s before you think their ready. People relax just after they hear the shutter and this is often the time to take the best photograph.
7. Make the subject(s) laugh – a laugh produces the most natural smile and can produce nice moments between people.
8. Don’t force people to be happy – this sounds obvious but is very common.
9. If you cannot get the image you want, stop and try again later.

Following these suggestions will help you get the best expressions from people and improve your images. And the “I don’t photograph well” crowd may even like the photos you take of them.

Happy shooting!