What is another way to describe someone is about to cry when writing an essay?

bottom lip began to quiver?

face tightened, jaw clenched, tears welled in eyes

lower lip began, almost imperceptibly, to quiver

throat tightened as I clutched the photograph,

It depends on the reason the photo makes you want to cry. Would your tears be over happy memories or devastating loss? If you're talking at the time you could say your voice was brittle. You could mention a sniff, a broken expression, or "feeling" overcome with grief.

In terms of impact on the reader however, here's a helpful suggestion: readers might be MORE impacted by LESS outward character emotion. A devastating scene in which a character holds back tears may garner more emotional reaction from the reader than a scene in which you overemphasize the character's emotion. This may not apply in your case since this is for an essay but it can be a powerful method of impacting readers.

Whimpering is one