How the royal wedding photographer got (nearly) all the kids to smile in this pic

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and the Royal Family
A picture released by Kensington Palace on behalf of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on May 21, 2018 shows Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (CL) and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, (CR) posing for an official wedding photograph with (L-R back ro Copyright AFP/Getty Images
By Randee Dawn with TODAY Lifestyle
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One particular kind of candy really helped with the kids!

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If you want everyone smiling in a wedding photo — especially young children — photographer Alexi Lubomirski has a trick up his sleeve.

Sweets!

AFP/Getty Images
A picture released by Kensington Palace on behalf of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on May 21, 2018 shows Britain\'s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (CL) and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, (CR) posing for an official wedding photograph with (L-R back row) Master Brian Mulroney, Miss Remi Litt, Miss Rylan Litt, Master Jasper Dyer, Prince George of Cambridge, Miss Ivy Mulroney, Master John Mulroney and (L-R front row) Miss Zalie Warren, Princess Charlotte of Cambridge and Miss Florence van Cutsem in the Green Drawing Room, Windsor Castle, in Windsor on May 19, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / KENSINGTON PALACE / Alexi Lubomirski / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / THE DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX / ALEXI LUBOMIRSKI " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - NO COMMERCIAL USE - NO SALES - RESTRICTED TO SUBSCRIPTION USE - NO USE IN SOUVENIRS OR MEMORABILIA - NO CROPPING, ENHANCING OR DIGITAL MODIFICATION - NOT TO BE USED AFTER DECEMBER 31, 2018 - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTSAFP/Getty Images

It turns out that a hard-shell chocolate called Smarties , was the trick to wrangling the youngest attendees, including Prince George, 4, and Princess Charlotte, 3.

Candy also apparently worked magic on many of the grown-ups in the room.

"[The children] were being bribed with one Smartie here, one Smartie there," Lubomirski told Reuters. "So as soon as the kids came on to the set, I immediately just shouted out, 'Who likes Smarties?' and then everybody, hands up, smiles; even some adults put their hands up, so that was our magic word of the day."

Lubomirski, a Polish prince himself who now lives in New York and shot the couple's engagement photos, also made magic with the duke and duchess themselves in capturing less formally-posed shots.

He explained how they were outside Windsor Castle with the sun setting after a very long and heightened day. The photographer gave them permission to leave, but asked them to sit on some stairs first.

"It was just one of those magical moments," he recalled. "She just slumped in between his legs. "And there was this moment where they were laughing, because they were joking about how they were exhausted and finally it was over."

AP
After a long day, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle share a happy, if exhausted, smile.AP

He added, "It wasn't until I actually got back to the hotel that I looked at it, and it was just like, amazing. So, one very happy moment."

For Lubomirski, having a happy family dynamic aided in getting some great pictures.

"The atmosphere in the room was obviously very joyful; there were a lot of smiles," he recalled. "It was like a family room after the wedding. Some parents were trying to wrangle their children, other uncles and aunts were talking to their nephews and nieces. It was a family."

Follow Randee Dawn on Twitter.

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