parents!!  as we approach the  holiday season when you will no doubt be trying to capture the perfect holiday photo, i beg you, urge you, implore you . . . do not ask your child to say cheese!!!!!  this will do nothing except illicit a fake, cheesy (you did just request cheese) smile.  time and again, i am surprised at how early the fake smile makes its appearance!!  in my personal opinion, i’d take a serious photo over a fake smile any day of the week.  in fact, most of my favorite photos of my kids are non-smiling ones.  the ones where they are looking right at me with that sweet, innocent, unconditional love look.  the top photo is of my oldest son – it was taken 6 years ago and remains my favorite photo of him.  the bottom photo is my youngest son, obviously he is less than thrilled in this photo – but you know what?  i’d still take this over a fake smile photo, because at least it’s genuine.  and, it also answers the question i’ve gotten countless times – “do your kids like to have their photo taken.” you can tell by his expression that he absolutely loves it!  🙂

so, remember, if your kid doesn’t want to smile for the annual family holiday photo – don’t force him or her!  try to get it naturally or just accept their mood for the day.

the end.