My Lactose Intolerance

Its not their fault.  Its not their parents fault.  In fact, it probably dates back to biblical times, though I'm not sure its high on Jesus' list of stuff he WD.  Maybe the dudes in the GEICO commercial started it while posing for cave paintings.  I'd kind of like Scott Bakula or maybe MJF* to figure it out for me.  I'm talking about the time tested art of "Saying Cheese", and it must be stopped.  People...I'm starting a revolution!  Just Say No to Saying Cheese!

Most of the time, a subject could replace "Cheese" with "Hurry up and take the dang picture cause I've been here for an hour and I'm tired and hungry!" without skipping a beat.  Heres a cute picture I've entitled "Cheese, I Wanna Get Down".  I've named it this way because Olivia wanted no part of sitting on a window sill and repeatedly told me how much she wanted to get down.  I did get her to sit for a picture and sure, I captured a little "talk to the handiness"...but for the most part, I think this one falls flat.  Its staged.

This is more like Olivia...as precocious as can be and as my mom puts it "there's a little elf in her eyes."  Same set of ruins, same lighting conditions, the two shots are just minutes apart.  One feels forced and one captures Olivia's natural personality.  I really love the back-lighting.  The shot looks great in color but there is just something about black and white that makes it more appealing.  Its in the photographer's bag of tricks, but should be used sparingly.  Sometimes, it doesn't really work for a photo and looks out of place.  I think it works here.  Plus, its just a stinkin' cute picture!    

Black and white is one of the tricks in my bag...it just happens to be my favorite!  I dragged Brady all over the park.  I made him repel down a cliff and scale the lighthouse.  Sadly, the lens cap was on and I missed the extreme side of Brady.  I opted for more traditional pictures.  I gave Brady one instruction, "head over to that window."  I wanted to see what he would do...he hit a very natural pose.  This is the first of 10 shots, and its the best one.  Shots 2-10...CHEESE!  Not that a single one of them was a bad shot.  But the off-the-cuff, unscripted shots are more my speed.      

Here's another must have for any parents desk.  A happy shot of brother and sister, sitting peacefully on some steps, big brother being gently hugged by his diminutive little sister as if this is a totally normal, completely common occurrence.  Now anyone who has ever been a kid, had a kid, seen a kid, or been related to a kid knows full well...no matter how sweet and pleasant kids are, this never happens!  I'm the oldest of four boys. If you took an honest photo of the four of us in out natural habitat it would look more like...

THIS...but with more crying.  "Hey Livi...hug your brother," I said.  "Hug" in three year old speak clearly translates to...sleeper hold.  I bet this is a more accurate representation of a solid brother sister relationship.  Big brother is protective of little sister...little sister treats big brother like a jungle gym!  Brady doesn't seem to mind.  He was a really good sport about it, and let Olivia climb all over him...like a big brother should.

The whole idea behind saying "cheese" is to get a subjects mouth to form that "long e" sound so it looks like a smile.  So, I'm not just proposing the ban of the word "cheese" but I have a solution.  I'm making the switch, and I suggest you do to.  Next time you take a picture or have your picture taken, change it up.  I'm saying "wEEEEEEasel" from now on.  Weasel...its the new "Cheese".

---Jason

*denotes time travel reference