[tr81]

> how simultaneously stern everybody looks with no fake smiles

They still have stern looks in photos back home in Asia. But when they immigrate to America, everyone starts smiling in photos.

My parents had a theory. They noticed that even in real life, Americans smiled more than back home. They think and I agree with them, that back home life is hard for most people and it is hard for people to put a smile on. Sometimes life is too hard for even a fake smile. And even if you have a pretty good life, you do not want to stand out by smiling, especially with a big smile that shows your teeth. People will mock you if you smile too much in photos.

In the US, life is easy, comparatively, people are happier and it is easy to smile. And if someone is unhappy, they still want to fit in, so they, at least, put a fake smile on.

And I think this can extend to older photos too. Back then life was harder and people did what was natural to them.

[alpaca128]

In very early photography the exposure time was so long that people used expressions they could keep up for a while without moving.

Europe is comparable to the US in terms of happiness if not better, yet Europeans don't smile as much. Faking a smile is considered weird unless you're a politician in press photos (and those look creepy if you actually look at them closely)