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[–] 2 pts

My first thought was, "Damn they look like a happy bunch."

Then I remembered someone explained to me once that with this kind of photography, they would tell people not to smile. I cannot remember the reason why now. I know nothing about photography, so that person could have been lying to my face. I'd always thought everyone from this time period looked really grim, like laughing was just for holidays.

[–] 2 pts

The time required to expose the gelatin plates was minutes. Can you hold a smile and still for a full minute or more? So instead they didn’t smile and had relaxed faces. So we get resting bitch and murder faces in pictures from that period.

[–] 1 pt

There it is. Thanks, and I would have probably been authentically pissed at having to pose for a minute. I already hate taking photos.

[–] 0 pt

Life was harder back then. Smiling may have been something shared mainly with friends and family.