Assignment # 1

1. What are the main differences and similarities between portraits in the early days of photography and portraits today?

A daguerreotype photo from U.S in the 19th century.

               Portraits in photography, both in its primitive and contemporary stages, shared many aspects in common but were distinguishable as well.  The first known portraits were the daguerreotype. The daguerreotype was a process in itself and was invented by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre , a romantic, French painter on January 7, 1839. The daguerreotype consisted of a image depicted on a silver plate of copper. One can see the main difference  between portraits in the early days of photography and today's portraits by making the distinction that portraits were paintings to begin with, as opposed to the modern day were portraits can be photos of high-definition quality. Color and quality are also major differences. Portraits before were black and white compared to today, where portraits are much more vivid and can be multicolored. In the early days, these portraits took a considerable amount of time to develop as they were made by hand. In today's world of photography, photos can be developed in a matter of seconds. This is an immense difference. Another significant difference was the accessibility factor. In the early days of photography, portraits were available only to the elite if you will. Lawyers, doctors, politicians and celebrities were capable of purchasing portraits such as physionotrace portraits as they required a deposit of half the payment in advance and had to buy a minimum of two portraits. It's quite palpable that you had to have purchasing power in order to buy these portraits and not everyone in the 1800's had the means to do so. This is a stark contrast to today's world of photography where just about anyone can buy a portrait or better yet, make a portrait themselves by shooting their own photos.

               With that being said, the main aspect that portraits in the early days and modern day had which were similar are; capturing the essence of the subject. Both time periods share this similarity as portraits before and now each had a purpose. People wanted to and will always want to feel important. Portraits provide that sense of importance as they convey to the public the emotions and personality of a person. Portraits were a means of expressing one's self and people flocked to miniatures and physionotracists to have their portrait developed so they can have an avenue of expression. Just like how people take photos of themselves or have photographers capture an image of them, they feel the need to express themselves. These are similarities that the early days and modern days of photography shared. 

2. Who was the photographer and who was the subject of photographs in the past and today?

A physionotrace portrait of Pierre Gaveaux by Edme Quenedey, 1821.

                In the early days of photography, the photographers were the painters , engravers and silhouette cutters. It could also be seen as a team working together. For example, in the miniature portrait the artistic skill and ability of the painter was needed to define the photograph and the silhouette cutter had to have manual skill, in order to develop the portrait. They would be responsible for capturing images of the subject either by drawing, painting or tracing their image through devices. The subjects of these photographers in the past could be separated into two classes. The first belonged to the miniatures. They made portraits available to most people because their prices would diminish due to the level of competition. Because photography gained such a high level of popularity, miniature portraits were discounted in price in order for the photographers to make a profit. In the second class, physionotracists made portraits available much more quicker because of the invention of physionotrace. These portraits were most sought after by celebrities of France because of their new found combination of less money and time spent. For a good price and for a considerably less amount of time (as opposed to miniatures), the production of their portraits sat well with the celebrities. For this reason, they were not the only class albeit they were the most common subjects of the physionotracists work.

              It is also important to note subjects of photography were lawyers, doctors, industrialists and politicians and they were catered to by luxurious studios such as Mathew Brady's of New York. These subjects were willing to pay a high price for luxury. At the same time, studios belonging to the likes of Edward Anthony would cater to a larger clientele base in order to increase that very same clientele and circumvent the social factor of the time by making portraits considerably less cheaper. Moreover, the photographers of today can be either professionals such as English photographer David Bailey or anyone who has access to a camera. They have the ability to capture a photo by just focusing the camera on a subject and taking that photo. The subjects of photographs in this day are just about anyone or anything for that matter. Subjects today can range from people such as Prime Minister Stephan Harper, free-standing structures such as the CN Tower, and nature such as Algonquin Park. 

3. What was the impact of technology on the portraits in the past and today?

            The impact which technology had on portraits of the past was immense. Portraits began as daguerreotypes, then miniatures and ultimately progressed into physionotrace. Photographers gained more knowledge in the latter years of the 19th century and this led to the development of new methods of developing portraits. Technology was of utmost significance because these new advances led to portraits being developed more quickly and allowed photographers to make great profits. The physionotrace, for instance, made miniatures obsolete because of the technological advancement made possible by the principle of the pantograph. The pantograph mechanically reproduced a drawing or diagram. The invention of the physionotrace was such a break-through that the physionotracist did not require much skill, he need only to outline the figure of the subject and engrave it to a metal plate. These technological advancements made it possible for photographers to service a larger clientele base and turn a bigger profit, as portraits were developed much more efficiently and quickly, as a result. 

Technology has given us the digital camera in today's world.

      In regards to the impact of technology on portraits today, that too has made the development of portraits even much more quicker and efficient. From photographic film to digital photography, portraits are now developed instantly. The technology used in photographic film was the exposure of light to a sheet of plastic, coated with light sensitive emulsion. When the film was exposed to light or electromagnetic radiation, it depicted an image. Technology, however, led to even more advancements in that digital photography was introduced. Digital photography is made possible by digital imaging. Digital photography is so advanced now that images can be stored and displayed on the digital camera. Portraits can even be printed now very easily via a computer. Technology has made it possible for anyone to capture photos.