Say CHEESE! No, not the everyday mozzarella, parmesan, and cheddar you find in the supermarket. It’s the cheese you say when you take your photograph.

Recently, I watched "Because I Said So" a really good mother-daughter movie. In one of the scenes in the movie, the mother asked why they said cheese when having their picture taken. Instead of saying the word 'cheese' all the time, why can't we use names like pickles or ice cream? This whole cheese issue got me thinking, why do people actually say cheese (or for that matter any other word) when they want to take a photo?

If you realise, people of the past never smiled in pictures. For instance, look at Van Gogh. He was a painter, an artiste, and yet he did not have a grin at all on his self-portrait. Through my research, I discovered that on a sombre day in 1912, there was a wealthy undergarment tycoon, Henry D Brassier of New York who posed for a formal portrait with his family for a prominent local photographer, Entfield Flimsham. Just as the rather portly Flimsham was about to snap the picture, he emitted such an enormous fart that Henry’s wife giggled, as did the Brassier children. Even the stodgy Henry could hardly hold his solemn poker face throughout the exposure.

Thinking the shot was ruined, Flimsham almost failed to develop it, yet did so nevertheless. Once developed, he was astonished at how wonderful it looked — the family (with the notable exception of Mr Brassier) looked happy! He rushed to his colleagues with the photograph, and all were astounded by the rather remarkable technique.

Soon, photographers across the country attempted to induce a laugh from their subjects. Many methods were tried, but none found as much success as the original approach. For several years, camera subjects would be told “did you hear the about the photographer that cut the cheese?” just prior to the snapping of a shot, which almost never failed to get a laugh.
Over the years, photographers began to shorten the reference, saying only “the one about cutting the cheese,” and still later merely “cut the cheese.” Eventually, they arrived at the short term, “cheese” that we use rather fondly in this modern era.

Of course there are other theories on this. Some say when you say the ‘eee' from the word cheese, it looks like you’re smiling. When you say cheese, it forms a smile shape on your mouth. For those who don’t usually smile in pictures, cheese helps them fake a smile. A simple yet effective tip for those who are not in the mood to show some teeth.

So there you have it, the reasons why people say cheese. Come to think of it, what’s been said is literally true.

Say Cheese! *clicks camera*