I just got back from a road trip in Japan and at several scenic points, I had Japanese offer to take a photo of my wife and me. I of course offered to reciprocate each time and I found myself saying “せーの” to signal to them when I was going to press the shutter.
I know that “せーの” means something akin to “ready, set…”, so it seemed appropriate and the timing of it felt natural for photo purposes. However I’m wondering if Japanese actually use “せーの” when taking photos, or if they may have found it odd or amusing that I was using it in that way.
3 comments
There’s a list of phrases people use when taking a photo [here](https://kufura.jp/work/human-relations/173886); if you Ctrl+F you can find that せーの can be used in combination with something else.
せーの is used when several people do something at the same time.
I don’t think it’s that weird to use it when taking a picture, and it’s pretty good :), but Japanese people use things like “はい、ポーズ”, “はい、チーズ” or “1 + 1は?” (people reply to it like “2~!” and their mouths look like smiling when you say cheese.) or “撮るよ〜(とるよ〜). 3,2,1（さん、にー、いち） はい！”
せーの has different forms in different regions like いっせーので いっせーのせ.
I was thinking いっせー came from 一斉(いっせい)because it means all people / things doing the same thing at the dane time, but it’s actually different.
According to Professor Hiroyuki Maruta of Kyoto University of Advanced Science and Technology, who is an expert on the etymology of Japanese words, “issée” means “to pull up” in French, and comes from the command used by the Japanese Navy to pull up boats during joint training with the French Navy in the Meiji era.
(This sentence is by DeepL lol Sorry, I gotta go now (･_･; )
Hope it helps.
せーの is used when people want to do something exactly at the same time. So if you want to take a normal photo, it’s a little unnatural to say せーの because people don’t need to give a peace sign or smile exactly at the same time when you release the shutter. (They smile, then wait to be taken their photo.) As the other said, 「はい、チーズ」「はい、ポーズ」「３，２，１…」「１足す１は？」are common for it.
But it’s natural to say せーの if you actually want to take a photo that they’re doing something exactly at the same time. (When they’re [jumping](https://www.google.com/search?q=%E5%86%99%E7%9C%9F+%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%97&rlz=1C1FQRR_enJP981JP981&sxsrf=ALiCzsYJmeoAaX8MFMeddAuyuWm2ec46bg:1669697672010&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjZhP3EzNL7AhXJslYBHUqCCpQQ_AUoAXoECAIQAw&biw=1288&bih=919&dpr=1), for example.)