When and why did Americans start smiling in photos?

 Daryl Dulaney | Naples, Florida

 In the early days of photography, when pictures were expensive and exposures took m or e than a few seconds, the results were generally formal and stiff. We see more smiles with the arrival of cheaper tintypes, starting in the late 1850s and early 18 60s, when cameras could leave the studio to capture casual fun at picnics and fairs. However, not all the smiles were authentic. As early as the 1870s, photographers began using birdies-small bird-shaped toys or whistles that tweeted with the squeeze of a bulb-to draw momentary smiles out of crying children. After the stock market crashed in 1929, advertising photos began using more color and smiles to appeal to consumers. In short, while smiles in photographs seem to indicate easygoing fun, the history may suggest otherwise.

 Shannon Perich, curator of photographic history,

National Museum of American  History