I always found it odd that we are told to smile in photographs. Part of me thinks that it’s because we are afraid of returning to bad memories, bored of the silent ones, and afraid of the loud ones.

What’s so bad about looking through photos and seeing someone scared? Or maybe laughing, crying, deep in thought?

It’s part of why I never tell my kids “Smile!” or “Say cheese!” It’s phony. I want to see someone’s honest expression in the moment of the photo, candids are precious. I want to remember the whole spectrum of our moments together.

Makes me think of a photo I keep of my mother holding me as a baby and kissing me, she dislikes the photo because she’s wearing a baggy shirt and her hair is messy. I found that is when she was the most beautiful, when she was being genuine.

Stop forcing a feeling in photographs, let the genuine moment be grabbed. And if no one else agrees, and they wish to placate their moment, you can always see the truth behind the smile in their eyes.