thanks guys! shutterbug – the lighting was indeed deliberate, i set up the scene and then waited till about 5 as full daylight brightly lit didnt seem appropriate.
miki – i think his expression is meant to be a grimace, also i think it might be in part because the flesh shrinks a little after death, part of what makes it seem as though the finger nails grow. depends i guess on how realistic the props people were going for on that one! i never thought of it as a smile but now that you mention it from this angle it kind of does… oh well!