To "cheese" or not to "cheese?

[Mike Dodson]

In preparation for an upcoming portrait of my daughter, my wife and I were looking at some potential reference photos I had taken. In trying to reach a decision we were looking for a photo that would best display her personality.

The photo we thought best represented her was a photo of her smiling. After all she is a very humorous, fun, outgoing person. My first reaction to the photo was to say no because "smiles" are deemed primarily as non-traditional. After our discussion I made my way to my library of books upon which I chose one on Sargent's work (Richard Ormond's "Paintings of the 1890's" Vol.2). Surprisingly, I found many of his portraits to contain these "no-no" smiles.

I think the expression of the subject should represent the personality of the subject. I'm cautious of a lot of these "art absolutes" I hear or am I missing the boat?