{Child Portraits} – Colchester | Chelmsford | Essex

Don’t say cheese? What’s she going on about you might be thinking. As children having our photographs taken we were told to say cheese all the time, it helped us smile right? Where did this even come from?!

I found this article… (Link to article)

The leading theory, however, as to the “why” of “say cheese” is that the “ch” sound causes one to position the teeth just so, and the long “ee” sound parts their lips, forming something close to a smile. Now here’s something worth knowing. It’s a formula for smiling when you have your picture taken.

Today I’d like to say stop saying cheese! Or telling someone to smile or to cheer up or anything similar. Because let’s face it, these are fake smiles. Are they even smiles? A true smile is not all about how our facial muscles move our mouth. Oh no no no. A true smile beams across your face, it’s a special glint in your eyes, it comes when you’re truly happy and relaxed. Let’s stop forcing our children or ourselves to fake it, let’s really smile!

Let us have fun, let’s giggle, play, have tickles, hug, tell jokes, speak in funny voices, make silly noises and faces. Blow raspberries together, remember good times, think about how much you love your family!

Relax, chill, give it time, be patient and they will come! It takes time to warm up to somebody new. We are not in a rush, we are there to experience our session together and bring out those personalities that you know and love with your whole heart. I want to capture that for you. I want you to display that on your walls and remember these fleeting days. Days of innocence, laughter and fun.

So whether you have a session booked in with me, are thinking of booking a session or would like to capture some real smiles at home on your phone…Consider stop saying cheese! Make them smile, make them REALLY smile!

It doesn’t just apply to children, far from it. How awkward do you feel when somebody tells you to smile? Should I show my teeth? Do my eyes look weird? We become self conscious about the whole situation, I don’t want you to feel that way. I don’t even want you to think about it. True smiles and true emotion just comes and it beams right out of us! Let me create a safe place for you, an opportunity to capture real happiness.