A photo of a grade school class in the south in the late-1800s. If you notice no one is smiling.

I think in the 1800s people didn’t smile for photographs. It look a long time to physically take the photo and it’s not easy to hold a smile for 5 mins: if you move it goes blurry

Two other reasons given here upon my search for a source are people had worse teeth and photos were more serious

People don’t smile in painted portraits historically either

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I think in the 1800s people didn’t smile for photographs. It look a long time to physically take the photo and it’s not easy to hold a smile for 5 mins: if you move it goes blurry

Two other reasons given here upon my search for a source are people had worse teeth and photos were more serious

People don’t smile in painted portraits historically either 

https://history.nebraska.gov/why-so-serious-3-reasons-why-you-never-see-a-smile-in-old-photographs/