Everyone close your eyes...seriously!


Ever wondered how to take a group picture where one or more people aren't blinking, or with partially shut (droopy dog) eyes?
Or one where people don't have different shapes of mouth movement.


For the first problem, I simply ask them to close their eyes. After I've convinced them that I'm serious, i simply tell them to open it and then take the picture immediately. This is because no one blinks immediately after opening their eyes.
While I'm at it i also take a picture of everyone with their eyes closed, cos frankly it makes for an intriguing shot.

For the second problem (the mouths) I ask them to say the cliched, overused, cheesy word...you guessed it...'cheese'. 'Cheese' was chosen by the sages of old because it contorts the mouth into a smile-like shape. 'Cheese' was also useful in the olden days because it's irrelevance to the event made some laugh.

In the end it doesn't matter what word is used as long as it's monosyllabic and does not require more than one mouth shape to produce.
Cause if you choose to say 'Jesus' for example, you'll need to be more careful not to have a shot with some people mouthing 'Jee' while others are mouthing 'Zis'. That in itself is not necessarily a bad thing if you wanted a more photojournalistic approach of the group shot. In that case you shouldn't be bothering with uniformity in the first place...just click as the shutter-finger itches.

Ps. Try this for size...get everyone to say 'Moo'...while closing their eyes!

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by.
Please leave a comment...let's hear what's on your mind :)

Popular posts from this blog

My Alien Abduction Survival Story

The ETs now have me where they've wanted me...at my wits' end and on my knees, completely at their mercy. They have my attention alright, howbeit not undivided. My wife is dying in excruciating pain and it's all their doing. They'd implanted the alien pod that had been growing inside her and was now trying to claw its way out of her belly. Okay maybe it wasn't all their doing. If only I hadn't been so stupid to get us in such a compromising situation. The aliens should never have captured us in the first place. It should have been some poor unlucky slob in my place. I'm a trained soldier, my instincts have been honed to avoid scenarios like this. Funnily enough they'd treated us nicely. None of the lower gastrointestinal probing we hear about in those abduction stories. Just strange heavenly lights and strange heavenly sounds. It was like heaven for the relatively brief period we were there. We were grateful to have been spared. Not many make it back t...
Read more

Suggested Improvement to Facebook "Like"

Image
Seriously, Facebook should stop abusing the word "Like". We've made our peace with their abuse of the word "Friend" but the "Like" thingy may be doing them some harm. Think about it. Imagine I find a page I want to participate in not because I like the page ("like" in the literal sense not the perverted Facebook sense) but because I want to provide an alternate viewpoint. The establishment could have the exact opposite of my values, or sell products I'm not happy with, and the best way to keep tabs on them, or offer my complaint would be to "Like" the page. Problem is I don't want to be caught dead 'liking' a page I don't...well...like. I know companies would probably want to limit the voice of the complaining customer, but some (the smart ones) will want to hear such customers so they can improve or at least know what their enemies are saying. This loss in important feedback and community activity might cost...
Read more

Those Darned Calories

I’ll second (or third) that too rapid weight loss is not healthy. Actually history has shown that too rapid anything, more than less, is never healthy. That said, it's good to watch your caloric intake...but it will not be as easy as not eating. A faster healthier way to loose weight is to eat smaller but more regular meals (of course while adding a healthy dose of exercise...or rather, a dose of healthy exercise). Whatever you do, avoid bouts of starvation. Starvation simply tells your body that there isn't enough food to go round (famine even). The body then responds by slowing down the metabolism, and by storing whatever 'little' you ingest as fat…you know, for the ‘rainy’ day ahead. You’re better off boosting your metabolism by eating tiny meals say every 3 hours. What I do (ok try to do) is eat tiny meals and supplement with granola bars (yes I’ve acquired the taste) later, or eat my meals in two meals…half now half later. Avoid or limit the white killer foods like...
Read more