Cryptic crossword clue
Colour photo made her smile in seconds 4

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 letter word HAEM

I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
H
A
E
M

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Colour" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case colour = haem.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does HAEM mean?

HAEM noun
  1. The component of hemoglobin (and other hemoproteins) responsible for binding oxygen. It consists of an iron ion that binds oxygen and a porphyrin ring that binds the globin molecules; one molecule binds one molecule of oxygen.

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