History of Baby photos
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History of Baby photos
When did it become popular to take photos of newborn babies? I'm wondering if one of my middle-aged protagonists would have one or not. Also, when did color photography become affordable for this sort of use?
Re: History of Baby photos
If she's middle aged now, yes (s)he would (both my mom, who's 52 and dad, who's 53, have baby photos.) They're all black and white though through out childhood (last I can think of is my dad at 5 in black and white) so that would be...does math...1964?
Re: History of Baby photos
I'm aiming for mid 1970s for a birthday (making him almost forty now). So probably still black and white?
Re: History of Baby photos
If you go by wikipedia, you can go either way:
By 1960, color was much more common but still tended to be reserved for travel photos and special occasions. Color film and color prints still cost several times as much as black-and-white, and taking color snapshots in deep shade or indoors required the use of flash bulbs, an inconvenience and an additional expense. By 1970, prices were coming down, film sensitivity had been improved, electronic flash units were replacing flash bulbs, and in most families color had become the norm for snapshot-taking. Black-and-white film continued to be used by some photographers who preferred it for aesthetic reasons or who wanted to take pictures by existing light in low-light conditions, which was still difficult to do with color film. They usually did their own developing and printing. By 1980, black-and-white film in the formats used by typical snapshot cameras, as well as commercial developing and printing service for it, had nearly disappeared.
Re: History of Baby photos
I'm not sure I'd call mid-1970's "middle aged" but yes, I can attest that there are black and white and color baby pictures of myself and my brother in 1962 and 1964 respectively. In the 1970's there were relatively cheap Kodak "Instamatic" cameras that took a cartridge of either black and white or color film.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instamatic (see section on Pocket Instamatics). 25 million of them were sold. They were "everyman" cameras for sure.
Re: History of Baby photos
My family was poor and cheap - and even with that most of the family photos by the mid and late 60's were in color. I dont recall any black and white photos from the 70's.
Re: History of Baby photos
Fun tidbit about baby pictures: Ghost mothers. It was a 19th century portrait trend where the mothers would hold their babies, but be hidden by curtains, blankets, etc:
Re: History of Baby photos
totally weird!
I can understand the ones where the blanket totally obscurs the mother _and_ all the other background so it looks like the child is just sitting on a blanket.
But the ones where she is plainly sitting there with a blanket over her head looking like Cousin It really makes you wonder WHAT WERE THEY THINKING????
Re: History of Baby photos
Oh golly, that is HILARIOUS!!!
Re: History of Baby photos
My mom and two of her sisters were born in the sixties, and their baby pictures are in color. Not good color, mind, but not black and white.
Re: History of Baby photos
Everyone currently alive today was born after the invention of photography. :P
Re: History of Baby photos
I'm in my early 50s; my childhood photos are in b/w w/ very few in color from babyhood. Photos in color are more 1970s (but not the vibrant/vivid colors of today. And I remember black/white being more gray/white.
My sister (born in the 50s) has b/w childhood photos.
My parents (in their 90s/89s) have photos from their youth - b/w
Re: History of Baby photos
We have family baby photos from about 1900 - though not newborn. Old enough to sit up.
If the newborn part is important - as in, cord barely cut when the flashbulb goes off - that would be later. Perhaps when it started being acceptable for fathers to be in the delivery room. ('60s? 70's?)