as “people begin to smile in effervescent ways” in painted portraits during in the Edwardian period, about 1895-1914, after the same change took place in photography. By World War II ...

happiness has replaced seriousness as the default emotion for photography, and for portraiture in general. How did this happen? How did we, as a nation, learn to smile in front of the lens?

grins as he views a solar eclipse through special glasses in a Your Shot picture by Sarah Jackson.Jackson submitted this photograph to the Power of a Smile, a Your Shot assignment and story.