The Beginning of Photography

Photography had its beginning in 1839. From photography portraits became very popular. Oliver Wendell Holmes stated in his article, The Stereoscope and the Stereograph that, "The very things which an artist would leave out, or render imperfectly, the photograph takes infinite care with, and so makes the illusion perfect."

The private portrait usually involved a circle of family and friends. The painted portrait was not affordable to everyone, so the introduction of daguerreotype made it possible for the everyday man to have a portrait. It's stated in Presenting the Self that, The daguerreotype arrived with the promise of letting virtually everyone establish a visual self-image."

The daguerreotype portrait wasn't all great, people had discomfort in having to pose for long periods of time, and also having one's head fitted into an iron posing device. Making the portraits at time having a "startled" look.

"Photography was establishing a new standard for visual representation and posing questions for the future of painting."