Where does the term "Say Cheese" come from when taking portrait pictures?
I can understand instructing people to smile, but why "Cheese"?
Welcome to Photography Stack Exchange
Photography Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professional, enthusiast and amateur photographers. It's built and run by you as part of the Stack Exchange network of Q&A sites. With your help, we're working together to build a library of detailed answers to every question about photography.
We're a little bit different from other sites. Here's how:
Ask questions, get answers, no distractions
This site is all about getting answers. It's not a discussion forum. There's no chit-chat.
Just questions...
...and answers.
up vote
Good answers are voted up and rise to the top.
The best answers show up first so that they are always easy to find.
accept
The person who asked can mark one answer as "accepted".
Accepting doesn't mean it's the best answer, it just means that it worked for the person who asked.
Where does the term "Say Cheese" come from?
up vote
14
down vote
favorite
2 Answers
up vote
4
down vote
accept
I believe the use of "cheese" in the phrase is because of the position it puts the subject's mouth in. Mouth the word "cheese" slowly and you will notice that the ending "e" or "uh" sound puts the corners of your mouth in a smile.
answered Apr 17 '17 at 13:34
William Anderson
1292 bronze badges
1292 bronze badges
up vote
3
down vote
People like their portrait when they are depicted smiling. Uttering words with the long ‘e’ sound does the trick. Watch the birdie and booby and cheese forces us to show our teeth with a smile.
answered Apr 17 '17 at 13:52
Alan Marcus
28.1k3 gold badges31 silver badges65 bronze badges
28.1k3 gold badges31 silver badges65 bronze badges
Get answers to practical, detailed questions
Focus on questions about an actual problem you have faced. Include details about what you have tried and exactly what you are trying to do.
Ask about...
- photography
- photographic processing or retouching
- using photographic equipment
- techniques and best practices
Not all questions work well in our format. Avoid questions that are primarily opinion-based, or that are likely to generate discussion rather than answers.
Questions that need improvement may be closed until someone fixes them.
Don't ask about...
- Anything not directly related to photography
- Questions that are primarily opinion-based
- Questions with too many possible answers or that would require an extremely long answer
Tags make it easy to find interesting questions
All questions are tagged with their subject areas. Each can have up to 5 tags, since a question might be related to several subjects.
Click any tag to see a list of questions with that tag, or go to the tag list to browse for topics that interest you.
You earn reputation when people vote on your posts
Your reputation score goes up when others vote up your questions, answers and edits.
+5
question voted up
+10
answer voted up
+15
answer is accepted
+2
edit approved
As you earn reputation, you'll unlock new privileges like the ability to vote, comment, and even edit other people's posts.
| Reputation | Privilege |
|---|---|
| 15 | Vote up |
| 50 | Leave comments |
| 125 | Vote down (costs 1 rep on answers) |
At the highest levels, you'll have access to special moderation tools. You'll be able to work alongside our community moderators to keep the site focused and helpful.
| 2000 | Edit other people's posts |
|---|---|
| 3000 | Vote to close, reopen, or migrate questions |
| 10000 | Access to moderation tools |
Improve posts by editing or commenting
Our goal is to have the best answers to every question, so if you see questions or answers that can be improved, you can edit them.
Use edits to fix mistakes, improve formatting, or clarify the meaning of a post.
up vote
9
down vote
I believe the use of "cheese" in the phrase is because of the position it puts the subject's mouth in. Mouth the word "cheese" slowly and you will notice that the ending "e" or "uh" sound puts the corners of your mouth in a smile.
answered Apr 17 '17 at 13:34
William Anderson
1292 bronze badges
1292 bronze badges
Here is a great explanation of it in detail and its history - todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/04/… - thebtm Apr 17 '17 at 18:30
Unlock badges for special achievements
Badges are special achievements you earn for participating on the site. They come in three levels: bronze, silver, and gold.
| Student | First question with score of 1 or more |
| Editor | First edit |
| Good Answer | Answer score of 25 or more |
| Civic Duty | Vote 300 or more times |
| Famous Question | Question with 10,000 views |
Sign up to get started
Signing up allows you to:
- Earn reputation when you help others with questions, answers and edits.
- Select favorite tags to customize your home page.
- Claim your first badge: Informed
Looking for more in-depth information on the site? Visit the Help Center
Photography Stack Exchange is part of the Stack Exchange network
Like this site? Stack Exchange is a network of 174 Q&A sites just like it. Check out the full list of sites.
Use comments to ask for more information or clarify a question or answer.
You can always comment on your own questions and answers. Once you earn 50 reputation, you can comment on anybody's post.
Remember: we're all here to learn, so be friendly and helpful!