Was Lincoln's Depression a Blessing?

[Susan Higginbotham]

Exposure times shortened a great deal as the process evolved, so it wasn't hard to hold a facial expression. The main reason for not smiling was that sitting for a photograph was considered a solemn occasion, like having one's portrait done. One didn't want to be captured for posterity with a foolish grin. And, of course, the American "smile" culture, where strangers feel free to command passersby and customer service workers, particularly women, to "smile," hadn't yet taken hold.

That being said, there are plenty of exceptions to the rule, and people started loosening up for the camera a lot over time, so as the nineteenth century wears on, you see more people smiling and more people goofing off.

I collect nineteenth-century photographs and have got to the point where I dislike modern photos with their toothy grins.