Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, where are you getting this? All the Europeans I know smile in photos.

I do think Europeans smile less than Americans on average. It's not about trying to look more serious. There is just less imperative to be cheerful in European cultures. Americans smile when they are happy, but also when they are nervous, scared, insecure, even sometimes when they are angry. It is actually a peculiar cultural trait that people in other countries sometimes find off-putting because it comes off as disingenuous.

I work with immigrants in the US a lot and I have noticed that often when they arrive they don't smile a lot but that after about 6 months they can become very smiley. I used to think this was because they were settling in and becoming more relaxed and happy. But now that I am deeper into my career, I think what actually happens is that once they have been interacting with Americans for a while (especially if they work in service-oriented jobs) they start to reflexively smile in greeting because this is something a lot of Americans do. Also, Americans often get offended by people in service roles who don't smile at them (even if the person is doing their job perfectly). So many immigrants learn to smile as a form of defense, as though to say "I am not threatening."

Again, this does not happen in the other countries where I have lived and worked.

Exactly right. I'm the French poster above, and this is what I've noticed too.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ and younger. I doubt those two were older than 25.

The equivalent of that man today would be 50lbs heavier, bald, have at least a few tats, facial hair, but have a beautiful diamond bright smile.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Google image of typical American women exaggerated smiles in their curated social media. This looks sooooo fake (and crazy!)

+1000

The expression in the second picture, of the woman scrunching her nose and eyes, has become ubiquitous lately. It’s not a good look!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ and younger. I doubt those two were older than 25.

The equivalent of that man today would be 50lbs heavier, bald, have at least a few tats, facial hair, but have a beautiful diamond bright smile.

Anonymous wrote:^^^ and younger. I doubt those two were older than 25.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I lived in Europe for many years, in several countries. In my experience, eastern europeans are far far less likely to smile in photos and feel that it is corny. There are basically entire countries filled with family pictures of everyone constantly looking like a relative just died. Germany to some extent is similar - they do not like to put on a grin in their photo unless something overwhelmingly joyous is happening at the moment.

Again. There is a different definition of a smile, clearly in the U.S. parts of the U.S. and in Europe and different parts of Europe. And even within one country, you have older people. My dad did not smile for photos for a long time. That was how you took photos. We also smile, what is a smile here, might look idiotic there. Imagine you grinning like a wolf about to chomp down a sheep, and all the rest in the photo having small grins?
Looking like a relative just died? See, the thing is, no they do not look like that. The pretty, insane culture in the U.S. is the cause that many people thing their lives are wrong unless they are laughing hysterically every minute of their lives.
1920 family portrait:
[img]
1950
[/img]http://c8.alamy.com/comp/CTG255/1940s-1950s-family-of-four-portrait-sitting-in-living-room-chair-looking-CTG255.jpg
2000
[img]

You also realize that shutter speeds were not what they are today. They sometimes had to hold a pose for a while.

Damn the man in this photo was hot AF.

Anonymous wrote:Braces are not as ubiquitous in other countries as they are in America

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I lived in Europe for many years, in several countries. In my experience, eastern europeans are far far less likely to smile in photos and feel that it is corny. There are basically entire countries filled with family pictures of everyone constantly looking like a relative just died. Germany to some extent is similar - they do not like to put on a grin in their photo unless something overwhelmingly joyous is happening at the moment.

Again. There is a different definition of a smile, clearly in the U.S. parts of the U.S. and in Europe and different parts of Europe. And even within one country, you have older people. My dad did not smile for photos for a long time. That was how you took photos. We also smile, what is a smile here, might look idiotic there. Imagine you grinning like a wolf about to chomp down a sheep, and all the rest in the photo having small grins?
Looking like a relative just died? See, the thing is, no they do not look like that. The pretty, insane culture in the U.S. is the cause that many people thing their lives are wrong unless they are laughing hysterically every minute of their lives.
1920 family portrait:
[img]
1950
[/img]http://c8.alamy.com/comp/CTG255/1940s-1950s-family-of-four-portrait-sitting-in-living-room-chair-looking-CTG255.jpg
2000
[img]

You also realize that shutter speeds were not what they are today. They sometimes had to hold a pose for a while.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I lived in Europe for many years, in several countries. In my experience, eastern europeans are far far less likely to smile in photos and feel that it is corny. There are basically entire countries filled with family pictures of everyone constantly looking like a relative just died. Germany to some extent is similar - they do not like to put on a grin in their photo unless something overwhelmingly joyous is happening at the moment.

Again. There is a different definition of a smile, clearly in the U.S. parts of the U.S. and in Europe and different parts of Europe. And even within one country, you have older people. My dad did not smile for photos for a long time. That was how you took photos. We also smile, what is a smile here, might look idiotic there. Imagine you grinning like a wolf about to chomp down a sheep, and all the rest in the photo having small grins?
Looking like a relative just died? See, the thing is, no they do not look like that. The pretty, insane culture in the U.S. is the cause that many people thing their lives are wrong unless they are laughing hysterically every minute of their lives.
1920 family portrait:
[img]
1950
[/img]http://c8.alamy.com/comp/CTG255/1940s-1950s-family-of-four-portrait-sitting-in-living-room-chair-looking-CTG255.jpg
2000
[img]