Fall Portriat

The competing element for this low key portrait are the leaves on her right. The tone is nearly the same as her face, so I toned down the leaves a bit, and dodged the highlights in her scleras and catch lights in her eyes.

I noticed her expression pretty much matches the other portrait. It borders on a scowl.

It is not uncommon that kids her age hate their smiles in pictures and prefer the more sombre look. That comes from the way we teach what a "smile" is. Kids in grade school are taught that a smile is done with the mouth, so the "grade school smile" is a big curve to the mouth and blank eyes. A smiley face is two dots for the eyes and a big curve for the mouth. When kids try it in front of a camera, it looks horrible. Demonstrate the "grade school smile" for your clients. It usually gets a laugh out of them and the "aha!" light appears in their eyes. Smiles are not done with the mouth! They are done with the eyes! I usually demonstrate this by covering my mouth and smiling with my eyes to show what really makes a smile.

Then tell her not to smile with her mouth -- pay no attention to it what so ever. The mouth with always take care of itself. But encourage her to light up her eyes, and she will never be plagued with the "grade school smile" again.

Just like before, Mark, if you don't find my suggestions helpful, just email me and I will be glad to delete them.