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    This Photographer Travelled Across India And Asked Strangers To Smile For These Heartwarming Photos

    Say cheese.

    While on a trip to Bikaner in December 2013, Mumbai-based photographer Jay Weinstein spotted a man he decided not to shoot because he seemed too intimidating. However, the man later himself approached Weinstein asking to be clicked.

    "‘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," Weinstein wrote in a Facebook post.

    In the three years since the incident, Weinstein has travelled across India, Nepal, and Australia, asking complete strangers to smile for his beautiful photo series "...So I Asked Them To Smile".

    "The project was designed to be minimal and leave what people take away from it, up to them. We did not want a message or a call to action as we are surrounded by constant messaging and advertising," Weinstein told BuzzFeed.

    "Its goal is to recreate the mindset from which we view a stranger, and then witness as our assumptions transform with their smile."

    "For me personally when I view these images, I see how we are more similar than we are told."

    "If we can all, regardless of language, religion, country, age and gender, respond to a smile the same way, then that says something fundamental about all of us."

    You can view all the photos in the series and follow "...So I Asked Them To Smile" on Facebook, Instagram, and the project website.