Thank you, some of my favorites!

Don Jones easy

People sometimes ask me "Why does Haley always look upset or unhappy in her photos." Some may think that she doesn't like taking them or that she is just upset all the time. Nope. Not the case. I don't always like the over exaggerated smile. Not in art. If it is a real genuine smile it may work. But back to Haley. She loves taking the photos. Half the time she asks me if we can take some, and then sometimes we are just taking some, and sometimes it is planned. In most cases she really knows the difference between a snapshot and a photograph, I don't even have to mention it. She just knows. We take funny selfies or goofy photos as much as any other kid.

"There are not many smiling people in my pictures. I've never asked anyone to smile. Almost never.... You almost hear a sigh of relief when you tell someone they don't have to smile. Where did "smile for the camera" come from? It's a tic. A way of directing attention to the camera. "Look at the birdie." The smile is a component of family pictures. Mothers don't want to see their children looking unhappy. They are canned smiles. Forced. It took me years to understand that I equated asking someone to smile with asking them to do something false. " - Annie Leibovitz

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Anyone could take a photo of a pretty little girl in a pretty dress standing in a pretty field of flowers, with a big smile on her face or laughing... I see it all the time on facebook... but then, that would just be a stereotypical photo of a little girl taken by a "Photographer". I'll keep that to public facebook groups for people searching for a kitsch photographer to take basic family photos for $50 a session.

Maybe she was never told to smile for the camera and so she doesn't. I didn't smile in my group photo in Kindergarten class for two reasons: my parents didn't train me to smile on cue for photos; I didn't understand English at the time, so I didn't smile when the photographer told the class to smile.

This is a ridiculous comment. People don't naturally smile all day in every one of their activities. Capturing someone who is engrossed in doing something almost certainly means you won't get a smile. You'll get their natural expression.