PHOTO TIP: SMILE !!!!!CHEEEESE!!!!!

Today I'll talk a bit about how I take what I feel are some of my better "people" shots. Whenever I ask someone to smile for a photo, they inevitably give the "fake" or '"forced" smile. Look at any of the photos you take when you ask someone to smile and you'll recognize it immediately. For some reason, many people do not like their photo taken, so it's natural for them to "goof up the shot". How do I overcome this? Easy......I act like I'm NOT taking the photo and they IMMEDIATELY loosen up. First off, when you ask them to smile, you'll notice the "force" and tension on their faces as they try to determine when you'll take the shot. At this point, I get a focus on them. I HOLD the focus (usually you do this on a digital camera by pushing the photo taking button HALF WAY DOWN, signaling the camera to focus, which will NOT take the picture......... most digitals work this way). I then look as if I'm not taking the photo even though I'm holding the camera EXACTLY where I would if I was taking the photo, in other words, I just move my head to the side and say something like, "okay, can we get a REAL smile?". The person being photographed will loosen up immediately since they think you're NOT taking the photo, you push the button the rest of the way down, and a great NATURAL photo should occur. I've been doing this for years and it always seems to get the best shot. Try this technique and see if it doesn't work for you. I think you'll be amazed at how well this works.