Everyone Smiles for the Camera

The other day was spent scanning old photographs, with my brother. A task which sounds quite dull, was actually a lot of fun. This was because it gave us a chance to look at ourselves when we were teeny little people, something we both hadn't seen in a very long time.
One of the albums was from my first birthday party. I completely agree with everyone who says that a child's first birthday is a chance/excuse for the adults to meet and celebrate(the child has no idea whats happening) And celebrate they did! Well...everyone except my mum, who had to carry me around all evening, and I was one fat little thing!
While going through the pictures, I noticed how happy everyone looked. People whom we had lost touch with, and now met occasionally in formal situations, were sitting and chatting like good chums. Some we saw had left us a long time back, and some have left us quite recently. I thought about how it was such a simple time, and seemed filled with joy. Being the sorts who thinks about something a lot, I kept thinking about it..
I wondered, how happy everyone actually was? I mean, they would obviously be, celebrating the first anniversary of the birth of an extremely cute baby ;)...but apart from that, there must have been a million things to worry about (like handling the extremely cute baby, and her elder sister?)
Resources were not very abundant, issues always ensued with people, simple times meant simple ways of doing things (which is synonymous to difficult sometimes)...
I'm sure those times wouldn't be completely 'filled with joy' as I thought earlier. Yet, at the end of the day, when the lens is pointed at us, no matter what is going on in our lives, and in our head; everyone smiles for the camera...right?