headshots

you do not immediately realize that this is the best picture ever taken of the girl. all that is visible is her round face, against a blank wall behind her head. it is black and white and she is smiling. her hair is curling perfectly, swayed by a convincing breeze. her eyes are squeezed by laughter and fat, her eyebrows uneven. you realize her tongue is sticking out and curled up, blending in with her colorless lips. she might have been laughing before this was snapped - the smile and tongue are not forced. there is no hint of dishonesty in her face, and you could muse that she has had a good life.

you cannot see that the wall is actually light brown stucco, or that she is outside on a blazingly clear spring day. her photographer, who must have talent to let youth and beauty do all the work, is much taller than her short, round frame and must bend to three-quarters of his height to capture her face without angles. other kids are gathered, waiting turns and making jokes so the reluctant girl will smile. she has protested that pictures of her are always awful and seems determined to prove it until someone tells the right joke, and she finally relinquishes a genuine smile. the photo is snapped and forgotten by all, except the girl, who will eventually learn two things: her photographer will not live to see his 21st birthday, and she would never have a photo that serenely, effortlessly perfect ever again.