Meet Rob. Rob doesn’t smile much, mostly because he doesn’t really feel comfortable doing it–something about a scar that I’d never noticed in the 10+ years I’ve known him.

While doing a family portrait session, I got Rob in front of the camera to make a profile pic for him. The lighting was right, the background was ready, music was playing, and there he stood, stoic. Snap.

Thanks to Zack Arias, I remembered an excellent tip–have them bark like a dog, or make any goofy sound. Don’t shoot while they make the sound; shoot when they laugh at themselves for doing it. I asked Rob to bark like a dog. He claimed he couldn’t bark, but he could growl. Sure, give it to me. Out came a bark, he laughed, and I shot.

His wife, on seeing this image exclaimed with delight “Oh My God! You got him to smile!”