Useful Photography Tip #186: Make a Portrait Subject Smile; Don't Ask Them To

"Smile" is the thing that your parents and those old school portrait photographers used to say to us. "Show a bit more teeth." It's just as awkward now as an adult as it is as a child. Indeed, with being both in front of the camera and behind it, I've known that asking someone to smile is the worst thing to do unless there's a very good rapport with the person. Even then, it's just odd. The best thing to do instead as a photographer is to find a way to make them smile. It can be via conversation...