Dad Shares the Hilariously Ingenious Way He Gets His Kids to Smile for a Picture

My son when I tell him to smile vs when I yell out “poop!” pic.twitter.com/ui6TuPOaC5

— Adam Perry (@misterperry) September 14, 2022

Imagine that you're trying to take the perfect photo of your child, and they're supposed to flash their biggest, brightest, and most natural smile. But, more often than not, what ends up coming out on camera is something forced. Many of us have been there. Author and designer Adam Perry has developed his own trick when photographing his son, and the results speak for themselves. So, next time you want to take a good picture of your child, you might want to take a cue from Perry and shout “poop” before you snap away.

If imagining the scenario makes you giggle, that's actually why it works so well. Perry posted the evidence on Twitter, where side-by-side photos of his 5-year-old son show the effect of this toilet humor.

“He has the cutest ‘strained’ smile, almost like Hide the Pain Harold,” Perry shared. “My wife and I discovered a few years back that if we yelled out something funny and mildly inappropriate and were ready to snap right away, we could get something good out of it.”

Sadly, Perry also confessed that this hack stopped having an effect on his older son, who no longer finds “poop” so amusing. But, since tweeting his tip, he's heard from a lot of other people who have used his “poop” trick to get a great photo of their kid.

The portrait, which was taken on the first day of school, instantly went viral. Parents everywhere related to his struggle to get a good photo, and photographers applauded his ingenuity. Many also commented on the funny, and inappropriate, words that use to elicit smiles when it's picture time.

And, if you are interested in the logic behind how this works, psychologist Sam Gosling chimed in with an explanation. “Smiling on demand and smiling naturally happen via different neural pathways in the brain. In some people, one of these pathways is impaired. For your son, it's his smiling on-demand pathway. You tell him to smile, he can't.”

One dad discovered a hilarious way to get his son to smile naturally in a photo.

My son when I tell him to smile vs when I yell out “poop!” pic.twitter.com/ui6TuPOaC5

— Adam Perry (@misterperry) September 14, 2022

People chimed in with their own techniques for getting a good kid's portrait.

My trick with my daughter for the last 15 years has been to say “poop and pee smooshed together” and it still works on her.

— Chad eats the sun and drinks the sky… (@chadsapieha) September 15, 2022

I used to use that technique on my kid too! ‘Dog poo bin' always got a laugh even during the most pouty sulks.

— Andrew Ferguson (@Penstrickenblog) September 15, 2022

For the last several years I’ve been asking my daughter (14 yo now) whether she prefers “burps or farts” when taking the first/last day of school photos. Works like a charm.

— bits and bobbins (@bitsandbobbins) September 16, 2022

We always tell our girl to say “corn” and then she yells “hot dog” and laughs at her own joke which results in a good picture. We’ll see how kindergarten picture day goes

— Fossilized Tree Resin (@Jamberee13) September 16, 2022

When I'm taking pics of children, I ask them to roar like lions: They breathe deep, throw their heads back, make a huge noise, and then they giggle about the grup that let them be silly. That's when I snap the pic. Works every time.

— Beth in Progress (@PhotoBethR) September 16, 2022

And a psychologist even explained why it's so hard to smile naturally on cue.

I haven't seen anyone explain this yet, so: smiling on demand and smiling naturally happen via different neural pathways in the brain. In some people one of these pathways are impaired. For your son, it's his smiling on demand pathway. You tell him to smile, he can't.

— Sam Gosling 〓〓 (@samgosling92) September 16, 2022

h/t: [PetaPixel]

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