When did smiling in photographs become fashionable?

Question

In the early daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and ferrotypes (daguerreotypes only had a few seconds of exposure, so they probably weren't frowning because of the long exposure time), in the portraits everyone is always stern-looking, not frowning but certainly not happy-looking. These days it's nearly the polar opposite: even if someone is having a terrible day, they'll unusually still smile in a picture. So, when did people start habitually smiling in photographs, and do you have any clue why?

P.S. I originally posted this in the Society and Culture section, but all I got was a dumb girl telling me it was exposure time. I already said that after the camera was set up, exposure was only a few seconds. Besides, these days professional portraits take a long time, but people still smile. So don't anyone tell me no one smiled in old photos simply because the exposure times were long.

Wow. I guess I was barking up the wrong tree when I put this in the Society and Culture section. It's been bearly 2 hours, and already I've got a lot of good answers (and it'll be hard to choose who's best ;-).

Still, some seem unconvinced that it wasn't long exposure times. From the Wikipedia article on Daguerreotype : "According to Mace (1999), the rigidity of these images stems more from the seriousness of the activity than a long exposure time, which he says was actually only a few seconds (Early Photographs, p. 21)."

Just because you're an expert on modern photography doesn't mean you're an expert on early photography. I just wanted to put down a referenced source. Anyway, to the other answerers, thanks for the good answers, and keep them coming!

Answer 1

It was not the custom to hold false smiles much before the late 1800s, it was considered insincere and undignified. The custom of faking a smile for public acceptance did not become fashionable in America until the mid-1920s. Now beauty pageant contestants actually put vaseline on their teeth to get wider, glossier smiles.

There are earlier examples of smiling in photographs, but it was more of a cultural shift between the two World Wars than a conscious change in photographic techniques.

Answer 2

It had absolutely nothing to do with etiquette or bad teeth or any of that other nonsense. The reason why people looked different and didn't smile in old pictures is because back then film was not as sensitive and even during the day, it took several seconds or maybe even up to a minute to expose the film. With a long exposure or a slow shutter speed, the camera will pick up any movement. The subject and the camera have to be as steady as possible. So when people had their pictures taken, they had to sit perfectly still, or the picture would be blurry. I've taken a lot of long exposure pictures indoors, with no flash. I normally do a 6 second exposure. (For the more experienced people here, I was using Kodak Plus-X film, with the aperture at f/8 and the shutter on the Bulb mode). One time, I asked one of my friends to take a picture of me with a long exposure. I just wanted to see if I could do it. I set the shutter speed and aperture, and just told him how to use the camera. Then I tried to sit as still as I could. I tried to look relaxed and normal, but the picture still didn't look right. The picture came out clear, but it looked kind of unnatural. It's hard to sit completely still for that long. I just had this kind of weird look on my face and I wasn't smiling either. And that was only a 6 second exposure. And I really wish people would THINK or at least do a little research before they answer questions on YA. Especially people who obviously don't know anything about the history of photography. So to answer your question...I would say that pictures started to look more natural and people started smiling in picures when film was improved and they could use a shorter exposure time. When they started getting into the fractions of a second, like the normal shutter speeds we use today, then people could be more relaxed and natural. My guess would be maybe by the mid-1920s. Or at least, I know I have seen old pictures taken in the 1920's where the people were smiling, even kids. But of course, it would depend on what kind of camera and film they were using.

Answer 3

Somewhere around the 1920s it was o.k. to smile and by the 1930s, smiling was encouraged. Portrait-taking was initially a very serious business. We are pro photographers, and smiling is encouraged at least half the time.

http://www.SpringMountainGallery.com

Answer 4

I don't know if this has anything or something to do with it, but don't forget that back then oral hygiene and modern dentistry did not exist, and very few folks still had a mouthful of teeth by the time they reached 30.

George Washingtons dentures were wood, now that's photogenic...

Answer 5

Perki and the Dumb girl are absolutely right... try holding a smile for ten seconds without moving.

The technical limitations drove the fashion, which changed as shutter speeds shortened, simple as that.

Answer 6

The answer to this question is simple. Whether its a celebrity posing to the press or a family photo on a festive occasion people want to project themselves as being happy.

Answer 7

Well I hate to inform you, but that "dumb" girl was correct. The average early exposure time was between three to eight seconds long back then, too long to hold a natural smile. With the invention of faster films and faster shutter speeds, smiles began to appear. Also, back then a portrait was a rare and dignified (if not expensive) occasion. Once photography became accessible to the average man subjects became more relaxed.

The maximum shutter time of a studio studio portrait today is 1/60th of a second, with the flash duration even faster (is it 1/600th or 1/800th?). Much quicker and more able to capture a natural smile.

Edited to add - Wikipedia is written by various volunteers and not all the info is accurate. This could be just as inaccurate, but one article states the daguerreotype took 30 seconds to expose. Again, much too long for a natural smile.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portrait_photography. I will never deny that some of it was culture, as well, but I still feel the main reason was timing.