Why don't people smile in old ancestry photographs?

Question

Why don't people smile in old ancestry photographs?

Answer 1

maybe they had nothing to smile about

Answer 2

They believed in a natural pose if they smiled then their noses would stretch across their faces and their eyes would look smaller etc  Silly people

Answer 3

Not as good dental care back then?  They weren't happy?

Answer 4

http://buenos-airesb.myminicity.com

Answer 5

1. Life was a lot more difficult way back then.

2. People didn't smile a whole lot for fear of exposing their really bad teeth.

3. The film itself took a long time to expose, which meant keeping the shutter open for a longer time, which meant smiles, looked a bit phony or affected.

Answer 6

Their world was very boring.  Color hadn't been invented yet, that's why all old photos are in black and white.

You might wonder, why, after color was invented, the black and white photo didn't turn to color.  Well, it did.  It's a color photo, though, taken of a world that was still all black and white at the time.

Answer 7

Because they didn't have free internet p**n back then so they were more stressed and more unhappy

Answer 8

Exposures were very slow, they had to hold very still and a

neutral expression was best for that purpose.

Answer 9

The old photographs took forever to take. A smile is a very tiring facial expression when you try to hold it for that long.