I am asked all the time, “How did you get the kids to all smile in that photo?”

Believe me, as a mom of 5, I’m asked this ALL the time. I mean, ALL the time.

I have to say, my sons (and even my daughter!) are really good at all smiling for the camera, but it hasn’t been without a little work. There are tips and tricks you can do to make everyone smile and laugh for a picture-perfect moment. Since the boys were little, I’ve LOVED taking photos of all of them together. Nothing makes my heart soar more than seeing my 4 little men all standing next to each other with big, beautiful smiles on their faces. I started really trying hard to get everyone to smile when they were little. Don’t get me wrong – I love a good candid moment of a tongue sticking out or someone looking somewhere else, but the ones I frame… the ones I hold dear to my heart… are the ones with everyone happy and smiling at the camera.

1. This trick always works. Ask everyone to show you their teeth, in a wide grin. Yes, it might look a little silly, but it does really come off looking like everyone is smiling.

2. Have everyone look down and then look up really fast and say, “BANANA!”

3. Always have a distraction. A toy. A balloon. A item that makes a loud noise. Something that will make everyone laugh and think is totally silly. Once you get everyone in a “silly” state, snapping them smiling is a heck of a lot easier.

4. This is truth, you’re going to probably take about 100 photos. So just keep clicking away, one of them will be that “money” shot! Please don’t think that it’s possible to get a “perfect” shot in one take.

5. Know what instinctively will make your kids laugh. I know when I joke about one of the boys cutting the cheese that it will always get a big laugh out of the boys. They ARE boys after all. They get a kick out of certain things and as their mom, knowing that… it’s something that I use when I’m trying to get those smiles.

6. This one works on “younger” kids, but it’s funny to get their names wrong. Like I’ll say, “Ben! You need to stop tapping your foot!” When I’m clearly looking at William. They think it’s goofy and funny of Mom!

7. The mimic game. Makes some funny faces and have them all copy you. Then, when you’re ready… smile big.

8. I’ve found that photos of the kids doing something always gets a great smile. Like they’re running towards me or swinging on the swings or playing baseball. I’ll tell them all to look up at me and smile, and they do! It’s like they just want to get the photo over with and FAST!