A large collection of photos from the 19th and early 20th century is fraught with faces of doom and gloom — and occasionally a literal dead face. There are several theories for why people in early photographs were so solemn in front of a camera. One has to do with the camera itself.
Daguerreotype — the first commercially successful photographic process invented by Louis Daguerre in 1839 — had long exposure times. Moving objects were rendered blurry or not captured at all because of the time it took to record an image on a sheet of silver-plated copper. In portraiture, most thought it would be easier to hold a somber expression rather than a smile during the exposure time.
Watch the video above to learn more about why most early portraits were all business and no smiles.
Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?
Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:
First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.
Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.
So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)
If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.
Yes, I'll give $5/month
Yes, I'll give $5/month
We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and
Google Pay. You can also contribute via