How many times, in front of a camera, have we heard someone say “say cheese“? Cheese in Italian it means “cheese”, but in reality dairy products have nothing to do with it: there is a precise and quite obvious reason why it is used. When we pronounce “cheese“, in fact, our mouth automatically takes on a shape similar to that of a smile: in pronouncing it our facial muscles, in particular the zygomaticus majorare activated, raising the corners of the mouth and showing the teeth. Even if it is not a real smile, it gives the illusion of a cheerful expression. In practice, saying “cheese” is a simple yet effective trick to make anyone look happier and more relaxed in photos.
Before this practice became common, photographs were much more series And formal. Looking at old photographs from the 19th and early 20th centuries, one notices that smile in photos It was not at all common. People tended to keep aneutral expression or even severesince a smile could be considered frivolous or unprofessional.
The change occurred in mid-twentieth centurywhen photography became more accessible and widespread. The culture began to change, and so did the way of placing oneself in front of the lens. A key contribution to this change was given by the American ambassador Joseph E.Davies in the 1940s. During an interview with a reporter of the The Big Spring HeraldDavies revealed a trick he had learned to make people smile during photographs: just say “cheese“. This simple suggestion, born from the observation that the pronounce Of “cheese“ makes you smile naturally, it quickly became popular among photographers around the world. It is said that Davies learned this trick from a politician, perhaps even the president Franklin D. Rooseveltalthough it is not entirely clear whether it was the latter who coined the phrase or popularized it. Today, saying “cheese” it’s now a universal ritualoften capable of easing tension and bringing a smile to even the most rigid faces.
