Sometimes you just need a smile and here’s where to find a few.
Capturing pictures of happy people is by far one of my favorite activities.
How do I do it?
- Go somewhere where I know I’ll find a lot of happy people.
- Look for people who are already smiling, are about to smile, or look like they want to smile.
- Ask if I can capture their smile.
- Take their picture.
- Give them a card if they ask for it.
- Repeat steps 2 through 5 until the day wears out.
- Go back home and do some light image editing (exposure in the wild can be an adventure).
- Post them here.
- Smile, as I enjoy the memories and the knowledge that I’ve helped others share their smiles.
Who do I take pictures of?
With extremely rare exceptions, I’ve asked the subject of each of these pictures if they’d like me to capture their smile. I’m often unable to ask performers and I don’t generally ask bystanders. I’m virtually never refused and I’m often thanked! I was refused once at OCF 2023 and twice at OCF 2022, and I took more pictures at OCF 2022. If I am refused, I move on feeling a little depressed but I get over it because there are so many more smiles to be shared.
As cute as kids are and as engaging as their smiles can be, I don’t take pictures of kids unless their parents are in the picture, too.
Quantity or style of clothing is not a key factor in me asking you for your smile, but if you’ve made an effort to dress for the occasion then you’re very likely to capture my attention. Of course, dressing for the occasion may be very broadly defined for these events. If you’re a prude or a voyeur then you’ll likely be disappointed here. There are other places on the web that will almost certainly meet your needs. Feel free to go there. This is about the SMILES.
If you’d like a digital copy of any of these images or would like me to remove any of these images then let me know by sending your request and a selfie that will make me believe that you’re the person in the image to contact@smiles.photos. If you’d like to use any of these images for commercial purposes then first track down the person in the image and ask if they’re willing to sign a release then contact me at contact@smiles.photos and we’ll figure it out.
The copyright for all of the images and text on this site is owned by Hawkspring LLC, an Oregon, USA company.
If you’d like to help…
If you have suggestions or if you’re a photographer who’d like to collaborate then contact me at contact@smiles.photos.
This isn’t a commercial endeavor, but if you’d like to help keep the lights on so that we can capture more smiles then please donate here…
No, it isn’t in any way tax deductible.
Looking forward to seeing your smile!