They seemed more blank to me. Considering that they knew the pics were being taken it was probably the best they could muster.
As to your 'Did they consider themselves poor'. From my experience probably not. I had just started school when the depression started. My father cut grass for NYC. Our place did not have any heat or own toilet. Our heat was the kitchen stove. We gathered in two rooms sleeping on the floor for the winter. I went with my father to gather wooden boxes to burn from the grocery stores on Broadway. Egg box cardboard was also good. We went to the 96st Street freight train stop where my father bought eggs from the incoming freight men. I believe it was 25 cents per dozen. There was no money for health care. My mother was taken to Harlem Hospital as a charity case. I lost all my upper teeth. We didn't know what poor was. It was life. Regards.