JOURNAL — 22 MARCH 2026

WHY I DON'T ASK PEOPLE TO SMILE

Directing a smile changes what a face is doing. I'd rather wait for the real one.

The instruction "smile" is one of the most common things said to a subject, and one of the least useful. It asks a face to perform an emotion rather than have one, and the difference shows up in the photograph whether or not the viewer can name it.

What I want instead is attention — the moment just after someone stops posing for the camera and starts existing in front of it again. That moment is rarely on command. It shows up when the sitting has gone on a little longer than expected, or when we've started talking about something unrelated to the shoot.

So mostly I wait. I ask questions that have nothing to do with photography. I let a silence sit for longer than is comfortable. Eventually the directed face drops, and whatever is underneath it becomes available to photograph.

This is slower than asking for a smile. It is also, almost without exception, the difference between a portrait that flatters and one that's actually true.