Say Prunes

Photography arrived in the United States in 1839, and looking at portraits from that era, you’ll notice the subjects rarely smiled. I always thought of that as being sad, but the truth is that there were reasons for that. Most monochrome prints from the 18th century feature people in regal poses with serious expressions, and the absence of color adds to the somber feel. One reason for the lack of smiles was the long exposure time in early photography, which could take around 20 minutes. It was much easier to hold a relaxed face than to maintain a steady smile, and subjects had to remain perfectly still to avoid any blur in the final image.

By the early 1840s, the exposure time for photographs had dropped to about 20 seconds, yet people still kept serious expressions in their portraits. There could have been a number of reasons…habit, etiquette, and even poor dental care. For whatever reason, people in those days were actually not told to say “cheese” but rather “prunes.” The point was to keep a more neutral look on their faces. I wondered about that, and so I tried saying prunes instead of cheese, but it doesn’t seem like that would produce a neutral face exactly. To me it almost produced a pucker or an “o” face. I could be wrong I suppose, but in choosing “cheese” the persons face almost has to form a smile to get the word “cheese” out. The word “prunes” just doesn’t seem to produce the opposite effect for me.

Smiling for photos didn’t really catch on until the 20th century, which is also when saying “cheese” became popular. Unlike “cheese,” which makes you grin. Saying “prunes” tightens the lips for a more modest, refined look that fit the beauty standards of the time. This trend was started by Britain’s first portrait photographer, Richard Beard, who used it to help his subjects create a sharp, composed image. For me, it seems rather sad that all those old photographs had a serious look to them, like life was mean and harsh, instead of being happy. Actually, the opposite was usually true. People were usually happy, but history will never record that fact, because the people were told to say “prunes.” Personally, I prefer the smiles…don’t you?