Does anyone know why in older photographs (1920's and 30's) no one is smiling?
2006-10-08 14:21:44 · 13 answers · asked by AZmomm43 4 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Visual Arts ➔ Photography
I remember reading in a history book about that. I said that the reason that people didn't really smile in pictures back then was because it took so long for them to take the pictures because of the different features that they had to include on the cameras. It is not like how it is today where there was an instant flash.
The book said that it didnt take so long because they were unhappy. It was just a long process.
2006-10-08 14:28:53 · answer #1 · answered by mizthang_keisha 2 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Actually long exposures have nothing to do with why people didn't smile for photos, though I understand the logic. By the 1920's and 1930's esposures for portraits were relatively fast and painless. This is quite unlike the daguerreotype , and glass collodion processes which sometimes took upwards of a couple of minutes to expose, but these were processes that date from the late 1830's-1860's. I mean even during the late 1880's when Muybridge made his famous photo of a galloping horse, the technology existed to take stop action photos. The whole thing with smiling has more to do with corporate portrait studios and their sense of aesthetics on what makes a good photo than technology not existing to take fast portraits. By the way the statement about the cold war occuring in the 1920's and 30's is scary. The cold war starts post WWII.
2006-10-09 08:45:53 · answer #2 · answered by wackywallwalker 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Mizthang is right. And it isn't the 1920s and 1930s... it's more like before 1900.
Exposures lasted several seconds. Any movement meant a blur.
2006-10-08 21:47:54 · answer #3 · answered by martino 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
In the old days people had to hold a pose for several seconds without blinking or moving while the shutter was open, So yes, a plain expression was most common due to being easier to hold that pose for such a long period.
2006-10-08 22:36:37 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
It took a long time for the picture to go on to the film and their cheeks would get tired from smiling for so long and the picture would mess up if they changed expressions, so they just didn't smile.
2006-10-08 22:06:30 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
People had paintings done and that took days. Also in the old days cameras were very slow. so the blank expression was the easiest one to do.
2006-10-08 23:30:34 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
That was during the time of the cold war, the crash of the stock market. An era of depression.
2006-10-08 21:28:52 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because the little bird the photographer holds in his hand to call atention, was dead.
2006-10-09 08:22:40 · answer #8 · answered by bigonegrande 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Hi, I recommond you to use google picasa.
picasa is a Google's photo software. It's what should've come with your camera.
It can Edit , organise and Share you picture and small video flips.
Download it free and just have a try:
http://www.bernanke.cn/google-picasa/
Good Luck!
2006-10-09 11:46:37 · answer #9 · answered by good.picasa 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
exposures took so long that iholding a smile for the time necessary was not possible.
2006-10-09 01:24:37 · answer #10 · answered by Marty G 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋