I often find it difficult to smile in photos because I can't help but wonder if this will be the photograph they post of me on the news when I go missing or am killed in some freak accident.
Portrait studios could probably make some good money advertising packages for paranoid parents. The nice thing about missing person photos is that the parents would want to have them updated frequently. The studios could sell combination missing person/obituary packages and have them come in every six months to assure they are current. When unspeakable things happen, the police always ask for a recent photo and the one you took at their school play using your phone might not help them get found. The photography studio would have proper lighting equipment and high resolution cameras.
From my experience, frightened children and happy children look very different from one another. If the parents really want their kids found, it would make more sense to have a frightened photo posted since it would most accurately portray what their child would look like if they were taken against their will. Rather than having stuffed animals and squeaky toys, during the sitting, they could have a man with a zombie mask and chainsaw suddenly kick down the door and come running toward your child while the photographer snaps away.
The package would include two sets, one set of frightened photos for if they go missing, and a second set of them smiling to put up at the funeral or to use in your Christmas card if they turn out to be ok. It would take a good salesman to pitch the idea, but the repeat business would make it worth it.
There would be a few details to work out. For example, the happy photos would probably have to be taken before the frightened ones so they wouldn't have to wait for them to finish crying, and you may have some difficulty getting your child to ever sit down for a portrait shoot again after the second or third time.
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