What are the main differences and similarities between portraits in the early days of photography and portraits today?
Photography in the early days was only affordable to the one who had power, status, and wealth. Photographer cameras were new technology at the time, so they were consider a luxury item and were enormously expensive. Photographers would have to practice and study techniques on how the pictures had to be taken and that it are taken correctly, so that no resources and time would be wasted. In the early days, pictures would be placed in a liquid with infrared lighting shining over the picture sheet and would take hours until the picture would be visible. Today, we can make many mistakes as possible, but it wouldn't be a problem as pictures are retaken within seconds and are shown on the screen instantly, so there is no waiting needed for the picture to be shown or resources wasted if there was a mistake or bad picture taken. The pictures that were taken in the early days are considered vintage and rare as there were not a lot of multiple pictures of the same object. For example, if there was a picture of the CN Tower back then you probably wouldn't take a picture of it again as it would be a waste. Today you can just take multiple pictures of the same objective as there is nothing to waste. Pictures in the early days were taken as art status for people. Today, pictures taken can be for anything, such as media showing whets going on around the world, celebrities to showcase them and make them more known to people. Some places today still use the black room to print photos, which were also done in the early days. Back in the days, wealthy people could afford pictures, so that they can show it to the world to increase their status and reputation. Today, it is still the same, but with paparazzi and media doing the job for them.
Who was the photographer and who was the subject of photographs in the past and today?
The photographers were well trained photographers who had to study chemistry, so that they can operate a camera and to produce the pictures. These photographers would have to go through extensive practicing and training to become a photographer.
The subject of the photographs in the past was wealthy people as they were the ones who would be able to afford to pay the photographers and the photographs. Today, the subject of pictures is mainly families and friends. Then there is a picture of special occasions, events, and vacations something that you may look back and have good memories.
What was the impact of technology on the portraits in the past and today?
Technology is improving at exponential rates today, so camera technology is getting advanced. They are at affordable costs, and can be purchased at almost every retail store. The biggest improvement for photographs was when color was introduced. It was from plain black-and-white color into a picture with a variety of different beautiful colors. Here is a picture comparing a black-and-white versus color side by side:
As you can tell the enrichment of the color makes the photograph stand out way more than a photograph in black-and-white.
The picture above is taken back in the 1870s. This photograph, which seem really plain compared to the ones today would cost a fortune, so it was only the wealthy families who were able to afford the photos.
The picture above taken 1907 by Jean-Baptiste Tournassou, was the first ever documented color photo of an automobile. This picture means more than other color pictures as this was part of history.
References:
http://www.fixthisphoto.com/color-vs-black-and-white-photographyhttp://www.networlddirectory.com/blogs/permalinks/6-2007/first-documented-color-photo-of-an-automobile.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Breadfruit.jpg
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