Why Didn't People Smile In Old Photographs?

[@patbrennan6572]

his barber should have got 30 days hard labor..

[@iammrbeat]

GREAT CLIPS WEREN'T SO GREAT

[@PHOTOVIDEODUDE]

@@iammrbeat lmfao!!

[@carlklein9385]

I've always figured that since photography was so expensive at that time, people took having their photograph taken very seriously. I have a picture of my great-great grandfather and his family and everyone in the picture looks mad as hell, like they were all ready to beat the shit out of the photographer.

[@Miracle122485]

Lol!

[@orangeradishneo]

I went to school for photography, and this is something i dont think we were taught in history! I figured it was just because it took so long to take an image back then, or to paint a portrait - people didn't smile because they had to hold their pose for a longer time. Smiling after a few minutes hurts, imagine sitting for 15 minutes trying to smile! "The first photograph ever shot, the 1826 photo View from the Window at Le Gras, took a whopping 8 hours to expose. When Louis Daguerre introduced the daguerreotype in 1839, he managed to shave this time down to just 15 minutes."

[@irisheyesofbelfast]

@@orangeradishneo It was one minute but still isn't as easy as you'd think.

[@hydrolito]

Maybe they heard the price he was charging.

[@mikeletterst9882]

If they had a picture of your hair, they would've smiled..

[@derrickgreen7924]

ok that's a pretty good insult, but also fuck you

[@lisag.4054]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Alice45894]

That hair though

[@iammrbeat]

I cut it myself

[@goldkhw]

you're kidding?...I thought it was cut by an expert....ha ha ha.....don't do it ever again.........

[@iammrbeat]

Yeah I was kidding

[@water9892]

Looks like a bar code from Walmart or something

[@el_reydeltamps]

@@water9892 😙

[@Mus1c1luv]

Great vid; well-researched and genuinely informative.

[@iammrbeat]

Thanks for watching! :D

[@barbarak2836]

Mr Beat, you are such a good teacher!!

[@ezekiel440]

That's the point...

[@shay2218]

I smile almost all the time. It's true, people think your very strange. They always ask why am I so happy. I tell them why not, could always be worse. My life isn't easy but I'm just happy to be here. 😊

[@luizsa8300]

4:13 That's Emperor Pedro II of Brazil (the older bearded guy) and his family c.1880.He was actually a pioneer of photography in our country.

[@SlyBacon7]

This is all wrong, they didnt smile because teeth werent invented until 1901

[@iammrbeat]

SlyBacon7 You have little evidence to back up your claim.

[@SlyBacon7]

I do, I asked Bruce Forsyth when teeth were invented and he said 1901, mkay?

[@iammrbeat]

SlyBacon7 Well, my great great great great great great grandfather had teeth, though he liked to take them out and throw them at people.

[@patriciaroysdon9540]

+SlyBacon7 George Washington had false teeth which are on display in his home.

[@TheItsmegp46]

They were romantics too. The men would say things like, "your teeth are like stars, they come out at night".

[@marylouroberts4645]

They didn't smile cuz they were not told to

[@3seven5seven1nine9]

What

[@mississippiball1003]

Yep

[@birddaddydetta]

That's the point he discussed yeah

[@DetectiveAlley]

I actually enjoyed this video. You told the story well and didn't embellish too much. Very well done!

[@iammrbeat]

Thanks so much! I appreciate the kind words.

[@kevinredbearaddison4787]

native american photos of the early 19th century never smiled either..i love it..it made a statement. I love serious pictures. Smiling is just too jolly and unrealistic in my opinion. Now I'm not saying smiley is no good at all. Smiling just gives you an illusional feel that's all.

[@tuschman168]

Einstein sure proved Twain wrong. Then again Einstein had very little risk of being remembered as a fool.

[@macvena]

You are absolutely correct. Smiling was seen as silly, and lacked gravitas. They were emulating portraits that they had seen. Calm, dignified, thoughtfulness. Vanity was still considered a sign of poor character. Smiling in pictures didn't start until the 20th century when still and motion photography was the principal way to preserve a likeness as opposed to a painting. Note: Portrait paintings were once seen as an expression of vanity, so much so, that death itself was often depicted to remind people of more serious matters like the Hereafter. Often depicted was a skull or other thing to represent mortality. These painting were tolerated for historical purposes. The style was referred to as Momento Mori. It's Latin for, "remember death."

[@heliotropezzz333]

That's new interesting information. I'd assumed it was just to avoid showing bad teeth and a sense of formality, as photography was regarded as a serious formal and expensive process, and it took so long to take photos initially that a smile would lead to a blurred image around the mouth. Old paintings often were of rich or powerful people who could afford it. They probably thought they'd look less impressive or less powerful if they smiled. They were probably right. Consider the (very many) powerful portraits of Louis XIV. He looks dignified and impressive even in old age, though he'd had all his teeth removed by then (according to letters by his sister-in-law.)

[@andrewglinski4722]

So, If exposure time was 60-90 seconds, did you have to have a 60-90 second staring contest with the camera?

[@MarcusZepeda]

I really love watching your videos they're very educational and entertaining and I want to become a historian myselfone day. And what you said is very true that it was tradition not to smile in photos back then, but there is a full hand of pictures in the 1800s/1900s of people smiling and being silly I think it's really sweet seeing that!

[@swtsoph]

Well done, Mr. Beat! It's rare to find something educational and entertaining at the same time. What a great subject for a video. I learned a few things and I had fun doing it. I wish you'd been around when I was in school - I envy your students. You have a new subscriber. Thank you!

[@iammrbeat]

Wow, thank you so much for the kind words. Glad to have you on board! :)

[@eyecomeinpeace2707]

Great video Mr. Beat. I have Japanese friends who never smile in their photos. They explained that it's in their culture to appear serious and pragmatic in their facial expressions.

[@iammrbeat]

Thank you. It's definitely a cultural thing, yes.

[@DJDoubleCee]

And before watching this video I always thought the reason why few people smiled in portraits was because they had to remain still for a long period of time for the portrait to be finished right.

[@teeveemukaimukal982]

Well done video - thanks for making and posting it! Great food for thought.

[@iammrbeat]

Thank you! :D

[@juanote97]

great great great great video!! you've answered a question that i had for all my life!!

[@iammrbeat]

Glad to help! :D

[@JosephJMcAllister]

Very nice work! I think you completely covered this argument. Next time someone asks me that, I'll just refer them to this video. :>

[@mafaran9231]

My teacher said when i draw a natipn hero in philippines my teacher said "WHY HE'S NOT SMILING?" She is a History teacher😢

[@reedsanime1041]

That was so perfect! good job man! got so much information in a 7 minute video. :D

[@iammrbeat]

Thanks so much! :D

[@reedsanime1041]

Np :D

[@zombywoof864]

Now in every old photograph I see lacking a smile I will imagine said person saying "prunes"

[@unagjac890]

5:27- What a selfie!

[@tonysoprano3931]

love you super cut haircut, is that the Moe Howard cut? what's the difference between a good haircut an a bad haircut? .....about 3 weeks.

[@iammrbeat]

Heck yeah, Tony. You are so clever!

[@brucepowell9252]

Interesting how nearly every Stooge had a bad haircut except for Curly, who had no hair.

[@MightyGreedo]

That crazy haircut would make even Mark Twain smile! Good video. Thumbs up.

[@Truthlesh9686]

As a modern person, I didn't smile at my photo

[@paigecat9104]

I had heard about the blur thing but the culture is interesting. My great grandfather would stiffen up and not smile when his pic was taken he was born in 1892. He did this even when people did start smiling guess couldn't get that out of him lol.

[@davidcastillo3550]

That was a good video. I didn't give it a thought about why people didn't smile or did in the old days.

[@hattiegirl99]

brilliant video! very interesting

[@iammrbeat]

Thanks!

[@drServitis]

N THE WESTERN WORLD SMILING IS LARGELY AN AMERICAN PHENOMENON. EVEN EUROPEANS, WHO BY AVERAGE ARE WEALTHIER THAN AMERICANS, DO NOT SMILE MUCH IN DAY TO DAY LIFE.

[@elizabethshaw734]

drServitis you are full of shit. I lived in the UK for over 10 years. they are not by and large more wealthy than Americans, most of them can't find a job and they smile just as much if not more often than Americans. so shut your pie hole.

[@drServitis]

GOOGLE IT. EUROPE IS WEALTHIER THAN AMERICA ON AVERAGE. Nothing I can do about it. It's not something I made up. It will take you two seconds to Google it like I just did. Look at the World Bank or CIA or United Nations statistics on wealth per capita. All of them show Europe to be wealthier than America. I live in Europe, btw.

[@elizabethshaw734]

drServitis none of those can accurately give a per capita income. You say you're up now well I can tell you that the UK is not part of Europe is it doesn't use the same currency and is looking to leave the EU and it's about time. After I lived in the UK for 10 years I lived in Italy and Spain and Germany so I think I have a pretty good idea of Europe also I lived in Morocco which doesn't count but it's not a third world country it just is not part of Europe. I look at a country's GDP and never mind the only Point you'll ever see is the end of your dick so I'm not bothering and if you speak to me again I won't read it or answer it. You're a complete waste of space.

[@williamroberts5716]

5:20 I have that camera. I broke open a 35mm cartridge and wound it on the reel in the dark and took several acceptable photos. The lab wrote me a note back and said my camera appeared to be broken. Heh, no kidding, the camera is 100 years old. The pics had a warm depth to them like a pinhole camera.

[@rememberingjazziedog1112]

love the video i hate it when i see a picure thats been taken at one of those " old time" picture places and the ppl in the pic r smiling because people back then didn't smile in photos back them

[@t.kuykendall517]

The child holding the turkey... Too cute! ❤️

[@gm-qn8ri]

I really never thought about that .Myself I hardly ever smile when I take a picture ,unless someone tells me to smile ,but then if I do smile It's a fake smile ,It's like I'm forced to smile.

[@HapiGutHapiLife19]

I didn't used to smile in photos but people would tell me I should smile more in photos, so I did. Smiling in photos now a day is a way of masking pain. People think smiling ppl are the happiest. I was happiest when I didn't smile in photos cause I like the serious look.

[@SepherStar]

My family had their own camera. They are all serious business in the professional photos they had done but smiles and sunshine in the photos they took of themselves.

[@elizabethshaw734]

very interesting and informative video. I always wondered why my ancestors in the big leather Victorian bound picture album War not smiling..... ever. thank you.

[@iammrbeat]

Thanks for watching! :D

[@chastaine813]

good job. Keep up the good work.

[@iammrbeat]

+Chastaine eniatsahC Thanks :)

[@sebastianrosker1617]

I'm new to your videos. Already love them. Great work sir, keep on going!

[@wdd3141]

I saw a beer commercial in the 1960s that said that in old pictures people didn't smile. Then when this beer was introduced people were smiling in pictures. Unfortunately, I forgot which brand of beer it was. 😜

[@evasivy855]

If you tour historical buildings in VA, the guide often says that due to lack of dental care many people were missing teeth. There is always someone who comments and asks. Also, depending on the year and camera the exposure took so long no one dared move or smile.

[@iammrbeat]

As I said in the video, you second point was true only for a bit. Regarding what they tour guide said, they are wrong. There is little evidence to back up what they said.

[@DJDoubleCee]

The Mona Lisa smiled in her portrait and nobody considered her a fool.

[@cleidajohnson7655]

For many people,they didnt smile because there was nothing for them to smile about. Not all people.

[@JoseEncarnacao]

That's a great insight for a such interesting subject. What/whom was your inspiration?

[@iammrbeat]

Just looking at so many old pictures. Thanks for watching! :D

[@Lorieellesh]

Great info, and, wow, can you tell me anything about the portrait at 2:00 ? It's quite amazing. I've never seen it before. Thanks.

[@iammrbeat]

Noelle Jordan Thanks for watching! That is a portrait of John Randolph, by John Wesley Jarvis. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Wesley_Jarvis_-_John_Randolph_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

[@hallee61]

I was curious about this because my Words with Friends game has a contest with like the Victorian age photos and most were NOT smiling and I wondered why. I luv trivia and learning new things. Now I have a better understanding.

[@NUSORCA]

I don’t cuz I know pictures should capture the most natural side of a person

[@BreannaMae]

The reason I was taught during college is because back then cameras had very slow shutter speeds and, as a result, if you smiled it could potentially blur the photograph, therefore ruining it. So people back then had to sit extremely still, even using a metal stand in behind the subject to keep them completely still to reduce blur. I'm sure the artistic aspect was apart of it, but wasn't the main reason.

[@iammrbeat]

Only part of the story. Thanks for watching!

[@dlwatib]

And yet perhaps the most famous portrait in all the world (the Mona Lisa) is famous precisely for its smile! The world needs more amused smirks.

[@gabrielcoelho19]

4:16 holy moly that's the emperor!

[@johnperrigo6474]

thanks for the video. i've often wondered this myself. Now I understand.

[@narlycat]

you know Elvis in the 1950s said he didn't smile in pictures because he wanted to be taken seriously as an actor/artist. He said did you notice all the great actors like James Dean didn't smile in a portrait. That I suppose was a partial return to the older viewpoint on the matter.

[@youdownwithRPP]

You are rocking that Herman Munster hairdo!

[@dumbname939]

Old people hate smiling

[@bridgetleblanc7313]

I never smile in a photo anymore

[@monicaraesmith]

Well my who is a dentist also said in dental school they learned ....It is more pertaining to the lack of teeth. Great video

[@luddity]

Life was hard back then. Not much to smile about.

[@zane5536]

Solid video man. Was genuinely interesting. You surely look like that for the video...right?

[@Where_is_Waldo]

I always felt weird smiling for pictures because I felt weird forcing an expression. Most of the pictures I've smiled for were pictures I made a funny face for just to overexaggerate the fact that the expression was forced... although I didn't really analyze why I was doing it. If you see a picture of me just smiling without making a funny face, I probably didn't realize someone was taking a picture until afterward.

[@Northern_Ireland]

So weird that this video is nearly a whole decade old

[@ashrafhaider598]

Nice video mate

[@donthespotter6550]

My great grandma was having her picture take in the 30s most likely, the photographer kept wanting her to move and she was pissed you can tell in the picture

[@McIntyreBible]

0:32, those are good questions!

[@confucius12012]

Wow. I thought this was going to be lame. Instead, I got some insight from a person really understanding the subject that he presented. Confucius gives you a A+.

[@iammrbeat]

Thanks Confucius.

[@joea1433]

confucius12012 Except the hair.

[@drazzle6267]

back then people believed they'd lose their teeth if they smiled at the camera.

[@bradcrane4706]

3:00 mark - there are two other people sitting directly to the right of the “first person ever photographed”. They are sitting to his 3 o’clock a little to the left of the white building. So this is the “first three people ever photographed”. But there are probably more blurred images of people in that image, they’re just hard to spot. Also, I think the “first person” guy is getting his shoes shined, so there must’ve also been a boy in the photograph who is hard to see

[@kenowens9021]

The film speed back then was very slow and photographs had to have long exposure times, sometimes from one minute or longer. It was easier to hold a non-smiling face than a smiling one. That way the subject would be more in focus,

[@human5983]

no they would get face ache because it took so long for the photo to finish.

[@iammrbeat]

+J Tman Do me a favor, and actually watch the video

[@kerenchadwick6535]

quite interesting - thanks..😊

[@iammrbeat]

Thanks for watching!

[@bjdon99]

There is that weird category of taking photos of dead children that was an 1800s thing. A lot of children died young. If they did, there was a good chance that no photo existed of the deceased child, so the family would get dressed up, and dress up the dead corpse, for one family photo with the dead child. Very strange.

[@brandontibbetts4214]

Is anyone else disappointed that Mr. Beat never followed up this video with the history of Duck Face?

[@petemitchell1044]

I got rid of that 777 turned it into 778 !

[@bigdude382]

I wouldn't smile either if my hair was cut like that.

[@cumaproto9466]

Because the olden days weren't as fun as everyone says they were.

[@ricardojmartins89]

Smile just for the picture? I think they are more realistic.... Nowadays people make a big Smile for selfies but in reality they leave a hell... So doesn't matter smile or not its just a few seconds dosn't mean anything. Its just my thought. Thanks for sharing this.

[@draugami]

From no smile to smile to no smile. I am told not to smile for my driver's licence, passport and security ID. Family pictures are a different story. On a side note, I am very grateful to have photos of my grandparents so that my grown children can see the image of their great grandparents.

[@billhayward1585]

people didn't smile in early photography because exposures were very long. It was hard to hold a smile for 20 seconds or more.

[@iammrbeat]

Watch the video ;)

[@jeremiahkirby6552]

That was awesome

[@David-yw2lv]

Few portraits that were painted show the subject smiling.I always thought I looked better with a non smiling pose.There was a guy at my highschool always had a dopey smile at all times.People thought he was a moron.

[@Schlemiel-schlimazel]

I always assumed it was because life was an absolute sh¡t show in the olden days. And people just didn’t think of anything better to do. Now with videos we have the same problem. People don’t know what to do do they just stand there and smile, and perhaps wave.

[@zeeqwan6477]

Can somebody please list the names of all the paintings in this video? 🙏😔

[@hatsalittle8189]

Wanna sit there for 50 seconds with a smile? Me neither.

[@tellthemborissentyou]

In some rural parts of Ireland the people have permanent smiles fixed on their faces.

[@Jamminmotorking]

I must be old school. Never smiled in my school pictures and my parents gave me shit about it. people look stupid smiling all the time I thought.

[@BoatPui]

6:23 Bro mewing 💀

[@BusterBeachside]

Everyone is talking about the hair, but nobody is talking about that wack-ass music in the background of the entire video

[@joycekoch5746]

Di Vinci's Mona Lisa and Carrivaggio's Love victorious teach one everything one needs to do with ones face.

[@McIntyreBible]

5:46, people didn't really start smiling until the 1940's.

[@paulnurmi302]

Some of these photos are quite frankly scary to look at. I smile a lot. A lot of people never seem to smile now a days. Have people come to a point where they realize total self absorption is not enough in spite of what pop culture tells us? It is pathetic and depressing. Life is too short to be so negative. Facial expression communicates a lot.

[@chewsyslee55]

SMILING FACES. (sung by the Temptations in 1969) I never smiled , I was TOLD to smile.

[@sayedmohdsalman]

Well, that's a very good point but now a days it doesn't look bad to smile for a photo..... I bet you will also look better on smiling.... :-)

[@ringberar]

The duckface line made me laugh

[@iammrbeat]

John Paul I never thought I'd do the duck face pose for one of these videos. Who knew?

[@emanuelbetancourt3966]

Now we have motion picture with the dog filter .-. imagine in 150 years a video like "why people used to have a dog filter on their photos"

[@lifeisamatrix5960]

keep in mind people wouldn't smile in low class back then due to fact dental work wasn't common for average person so allot wouldn't smile if teeth were bad. this was the case for majority of middle and low class types.

[@lifeisamatrix5960]

now days it's got to point everyone's a show boat so it's fashion and goofy teeth showing on everything even if smiles look fake it isn't happiness now days it's the you gotta smile.

[@guardiankiller108]

I have a camera that dwarfs the picture quality of those camera but I refuse to use it

[@TheSumublings]

Mr Beat, You can check Abe Lincoln's picture.....

[@sirfluffythegreat420]

6:22 Will you someday make that video still? 😆

[@Smashingpottery]

They had no reason to. If I was wearing flannel during the summer with no air conditioning I would never smile.