Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
A woman seems to crack a small smile amid the chaos. This unidentified family made a full affair out of family photo day, complete with elaborate Edwardian hats, their large dog, and baby doll in a buggy.
Mr. and Mrs. Peter Lorig pose for a formal photograph. They had a daughter, Agnes Lorig.
Dora Dolltrop poses in a photography studio in 1909. She was the daughter of a Sheyenne pioneer family.
In the early 1900s, having your portrait captured on film was a rare occurrence. Posing for a picture was an all out event, complete with dramatic staging and bright lights.
With all the excitement, you'd think people might smile once in a while. Aside from the occasional smirk, portraits of this era seem undeniably stoic. And there was good reason.
Many assume this is because the exposure time during this era was too long to capture bright, smiling faces. Others surmise that maybe poor dental health inhibited folks from giving a big cheese just before the shutter clicked.
Instead, it was more to due with the fact that portrait photographers had long been emulating portrait painters. Having a portrait taken in that time was likened to posing for a painting.
Photographers created scenes for their subjects and provided instructions on how to pose just right. Never were the subjects encouraged to smile.
It wasn't until the mid 1940s when regular folks picked up photography that people began smiling on film. I wonder if that fact doesn't have something to do with who was behind the camera, and how suited they were to capturing delightful moments.
Either way, the culture changed and suddenly smiling for a photo became a natural reaction.
