Getting genuine smiles for a portrait is a common challenge for a lot of photographers. While resorting to the traditional “Cheese!” is one approach, the resulting smiles often come across as forced. Achieving truly natural smiles can be a daunting task, and it might seem nearly impossible.

Nonetheless, you can make your clients’ expressions appear more authentic, genuine, and joyful by adapting your photography style and incorporating new methods and techniques. In this article, we’ve compiled some fantastic tricks and techniques to assist your clients in achieving natural smiles during their photography sessions. Let’s delve into these strategies in detail.

Creating a Fun and Comfortable Environment 

Establishing a fun and comfortable environment is a powerful technique for eliciting authentic smiles when you’re a photographer.

The initial aspect to take into account is your own demeanor. Approach your subjects with a warm and gracious smile on your face. A smile is contagious, and if you aim to elicit natural smiles from your subjects, establish the tone by exhibiting a friendly and positive attitude yourself.

Another effective technique is to encourage laughter by having someone share a humorous joke or an amusing story. Keep in mind that the objective is to foster an atmosphere where smiles arise spontaneously and genuinely.

You can also try engaging your subjects in conversation to help them relax. People may exhibit forced and unnatural expressions when they feel tense or nervous.

Using The Reverse Psychology 

Using reverse psychology can be a clever and playful technique to achieve authentic smiles in your photography. Instead of directly instructing your subjects to smile, you tell them to do the opposite, creating a lighthearted and unexpected atmosphere. This approach often results in genuine and spontaneous smiles from your subjects.

For example, giving your subjects playful instructions like “Don’t even think about laughing!” or demanding with a smile, “Be serious! Hold that serious face!” can yield delightful results. Surprisingly, this approach often makes them laugh even harder as they try to control their smiles. This creates the perfect opportunity to capture candid shots with genuine smiles. While this tactic is especially effective with children, it can also work remarkably well with adults.

The key to making reverse psychology effective is to deliver the instructions with a twinkle in your eye and an exaggerated tone of voice. This signals to your subjects that you’re not entirely serious about the directive. It’s this element of playfulness and surprise that prompts a natural response, as your subjects find the contradiction amusing and can’t help but break into laughter.

Learn About your Client

By investing time in getting to know your subjects personally, you can craft a photography session that not only aligns with their preferences but also cultivates a positive atmosphere for the shoot.

The initial step is to engage your clients in conversation. By posing questions and encouraging them to share things that bring them joy, you assist in their relaxation and foster a more authentic connection. For instance, when photographing children, inquire about their beloved toys or favorite cartoon characters. With parents, encourage them to talk about their children. This approach brings forth natural smiles and aids in building a personal connection, ultimately enhancing the overall photo experience.

Participating in light and friendly conversations, sharing anecdotes, incorporating props or activities, and infusing humor into the interaction are all effective methods to encourage authentic smiles.

Furthermore, it’s crucial to address any insecurities your clients may have regarding their appearance. By asking about what aspects of their smile or overall look they might be less comfortable with, you demonstrate empathy and a dedication to ensuring their comfort. Making adjustments to poses, angles, and lighting in accordance with their preferences can substantially boost their confidence, resulting in more genuine smiles. This approach also allows you to provide them with tips on how to appear their best in photos.

Use The Surprising Elements 

Surprising your subject is a brilliant technique for capturing excellent and authentic smile photos as it infuses spontaneity and genuine reactions into the photography session. It’s a departure from the clichéd “say cheese photography,” which often results in forced and unnatural smiles.

Requesting subjects to say something entirely unexpected, such as “antidisestablishmentarianism,” rather than the typical phrases, introduces an element of unpredictability. This surprise element breaks away from the routine of traditional posing and yields authentic, spontaneous reactions.

As part of this creative approach, you can incorporate the staging of unexpected scenarios, such as a pillow fight with hidden feathers inside. The element of surprise with feathers unexpectedly falling out often leads to fits of giggles and expressions that inject a sense of joy into the photographs.

Play A Game 

One clever approach to eliciting genuine expressions is to incorporate playfulness. Whether you’re capturing a lively family or a couple sharing an intimate moment, engaging them in a game can be highly effective in bringing out natural, joyful smiles.

A favorite game for group shots is the telephone game—a timeless classic that consistently brings joy. Participants create a chain, with one person whispering a few words or a secret to the next, and the message passes along until the final person announces it aloud. The beauty of this game lies in the unexpected and often humorous twists that occur, bringing out authentic reactions and, consequently, heartwarming smiles. It adds an element of fun and unpredictability to the photo session, making the captured moments more genuine.

For couples, a charming variation of this game entails one partner whispering a silly secret or a private joke to the other. The resulting reactions, filled with shared laughter and inside jokes, foster an atmosphere of intimacy and authenticity. These candid moments, originating from the game, translate into photographs that genuinely capture the essence of the relationship.

Try These Prompts

By encouraging genuine emotions and expressions, you can create photos that truly reflect the subject’s personality. Here are some prompts to evoke authentic smiles and emotions in your photography:

• Recall a Hilarious Moment: Invite your clients to close their eyes and revisit the funniest moment in their life. Encourage them to vividly imagine the scene, the people involved, and the contagious laughter that ensued. As they open their eyes, let that genuine joy radiate through their smiles. 
• Whisper a Compliment: Share a heartfelt compliment with your client, highlighting something you’ve noticed during the shoot – it could be their unique style, a distinctive feature, or the overall positive vibe they bring. Sincere praise often sparks a genuine, happy response. 
• Pretend to Be a Superhero: For a playful and lighthearted approach, ask your subject to imagine they have superhero powers. What would their superhero name be, and how would they pose or smile knowing they have special abilities? This can result in a fun and spontaneous expression.

Wrapping Up 

Ultimately, the objective is to curate a collection of photographs that not only exhibit visual charm but also encapsulate the unscripted joy and authenticity of the moment. Therefore, the next time you pick up your camera, keep in mind the importance of going beyond the ordinary and exploring the various ways you can capture the genuine, authentic smiles that elevate your photography to a distinctive level.

If you’re ready to put these tips into practice and are in need of professional photography equipment for your photography services, you might want to consider Grattan Studios. We provide photo studio rental space and equipment at competitive rates. Grattan Studios offers a comprehensive range of resources, from high-quality equipment to entertaining props. Feel free to contact us today for more information.