I can’t just plop someone in front of my camera and expect a natural smile. If I did that, I would be a jerk of a photographer… or just really lazy. And I spend a lot of time and energy making sure I’m neither lazy nor a jerk.
One of my favorite parts of a headshot photo session is just laughing, joking, and chatting away while snapping photos. I’ve found that this loosens people up, helps them forget that there’s a camera in the room, and gets better shots. Three cheers for laughing your way to a perfect headshot! Hip hip, horray!