Photography in the Beginning

When photography first came out, artists (such as painters) were afraid that their work would be replaced by photography and so they began to learn the "art of photography." In the early days of photography, it was not really an art form but a way of capturing a scene, in a very rigid and lacking artistic values that made them more that simply a record of light and shadow. The original cameras were very large and unmanageable, making them difficult to transport. They also had extremely long shutter speed so the subjects had to remain completely still for quite some time. By the 1860s, shutter speeds had decreased and photographs began to be printed onto cards that could be given to friends and family, or sent to people further away. Photography really took off when it began to be printed on paper beginning the production of magazines such as the National Geographic which vastly influenced americans views on the world around them. Through pictures they were able to view different parts of the world that they would most likely not have the chance to see first hand. There are many uses of photography from art, to magazines, to capturing family memories it plays and integral part in todays society and helped increase the knowledge of the early american society.