Why Didn’t People Smile In Old-Timey Photographs?
You might have learned a myth about this in school.
Fashions, poses, locations, and subjects vary widely in nineteenth-century photographs. Pioneering American photojournalist Matthew Brady shot his historic images on Civil War battlefields, while British portraitist Julia Margaret Cameron shot artfully posed studio scenes and dreamy close-ups. But one common thread runs through the vast majority of “old-timey” photographs: the subjects are almost always somber, staid, and unsmiling.
The most frequently quoted reason that I have heard for this phenomenon cites the long exposure time needed to produce early photographs. It is much easier to hold a solemn pose with relaxed facial muscles for a long period of time than to freeze one’s face in a smile. A happy expression will quickly change to a grimace if held too long (try it in the mirror and see!). But though the daguerreotypes (pronounced dah-GARE-oh-type) of early photography in the 1840’s could require a 15-minute exposure in order to produce a clear image, technology quickly advanced beyond this point.
When my husband and I were newly engaged, we sat for a portrait at Victorian Photography Studio in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Catering to curious tourists and seasoned historical reenactors alike, the studio uses a collodion…
