You’ll never look at a stranger the same way again after viewing these photos…
In December 2013, a photographer named Jay Weinstein was on a trip to Bikaner in the deserts of Rajasthan, India, when he spotted a man that piqued his interest. His first desire was to photograph the stranger, but the look of fierce intimidation stopped him in his tracks.
He relayed on Bored Panda that he ended up avoiding the man until the stranger jovially called out, “Take my picture, too!”
He writes:
“Camera lens focused, my finger poised to fire. ‘Smile’, I called out. And he was transformed. His face radiated warmth, his eyes sparkled with a humor I had completely missed. Even his posture softened. I knew then what my next project would be. So I asked them to smile was born. I wanted to document the effect of the human smile on a strangers face.
In the days, months and years that followed, I asked random people on my photography adventures (mostly on the streets of India) to pose unsmiling and with a smile. These images are the heart of my project. Its goal is to recreate the mindset from which we view a stranger, and then witness as our assumptions transform with their smile.”
It’s easy to ignore a stranger based upon the lack of warmth they might be exuding, but that demeanor can be transformed in an instant, as Weinstein found out. Following are 29 photos the India/Australia based photographer captured.
“So there are no names. No occupations. No confirmed religions or ethnicity. No intriguing life lessons or heart strumming anecdotes. Just one human face. Without, and with a smile.”
You can learn more about the photographer by visiting his Facebook page.
#1 Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#2 Hampi, Karnataka, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#3 Juhu, Mumbai, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#4 Tyrna Village, Meghalaya, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#5 Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#6 Kakhsar Village, Gujarat, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#7 Bandra, Mumbai, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#8 Danda Village Jetty, Mumbai, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#9 Bagru Village, Rajasthan, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#10 Kakhsar Village, Gujarat, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#11 Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#12 Latikynsew Village, Meghalaya, North East India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#13 Jagannath Puri, Odisha, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#14 Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#15 Khonoma, Nagaland, North-east India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#16 Ral Village, Uttar Pradesh, India#18 Pune, Maharasthra, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#17 Outside St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#18 Kakhsar Village, Gujarat, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#19 Jagannath Puri, Odisha, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#20 Danda Village Jetty, Mumbai, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#21 Juhu Beach, Mumbai, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#22 Pune, Maharashtra, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#23 Barsana, Uttar Pradesh, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#24 Tyrna Village, Meghalaya, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#25 Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#26 Kohima, Nagaland, North-east India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#27 Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#28 Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
#29 Juhu Beach, Mumbai, India
Credit: Jay Weinstein
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This article (First Impressions Are Often Wrong, And These 29 Photos Are Proof Of That) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and TrueActivist.com
With much guilt and shame I realize how easy it is to not only misinterpret… but to actually judge the people in these photographs. Lesson learned, here!
I have always been taught that if someone doesn’t have a smile, give them one. In safer areas, it is usually returned. In less safe areas, like crowded streets in big cities, you get a scowl. It is a ‘don’t mess with me’ defense mechanism. But a smile still transforms them.
Amazing series. The third last one is funny though, the two pictures are almost similar even though you know beneath all the beard and shades, he’s smiling and this still makes you feel better.
A smile is a beautiful sight to behold. Thank you for sharing.
How so? I would’ve thought it was #10 where the woman has all that weight on her head, which was probably not very comfortable for her. All in all, some good experimentation of not just the first impression, but how a simple smile, even if not directed at you, can brighten your day as many did mine! Instead of some of the stupid, silly and some insane “holidays” we have, why don’t we have an International Month of the Smile. We might even find a breakthrough where soldiers of chaotic regimes aren’t so inclined to kill each other only because they’re told to, or fight voluntarily in a “war” based on layers of lies. Israel however would be a lost cause when it’s people sat on lawn chairs and cheered the night time bombing of Gaza like the people in the US line up to watch fireworks marking about the midway point in THEIR genocide of the Native Americans. I still would give it a try because a smile is free and reusable all day and night, and much nicer than seeing the results of a bomb that didn’t need to be dropped in the first place. SMILE!!!
These photos don’t only show that first impressions are often wrong. More importantly it shows how powerful a smile is and how much it affects how others perceive you.
The photographer was being an asshole on #14 😛