The modern photographic portrait wa

The modern photographic portrait was in its infancy, and was an extremely painful and uncomfortable experience for the subjects who had to remain still for a long period of time because of the primitive quality of the chemicals for light exposure. Hence, Fox Talbot thought about photography as “the pencil of nature” in relation to the types of objects to be photographed. Framing was only one of several complicated skills required to succeed in the successful creation of a photograph. During this first moment, all of this knowledge was needed prior to creating a single image, and, as a result of this, not everyone was able to do photography, even if they had access to the equipment. If we think about the characteristics of photography at the time, the equipment was big, which, among other things, reduced mobility. The skills and knowledge to produce images were highly specialized, the technical possibilities were very limiting and the time invested in the creation of even a single image was very long. The distribution and possible uses of photography had still to be developed. Early distribution channels included the traveling photographer selling portraits (often cheap tintypes), stereoscope images (which were especially popular with the Victorians), and as photographic visiting cards (cartede-visite). The first networks that shaped (and were shaped by) photography were the scientific networks where enthusiasts and amateurs participated actively in the development of new optical and chemical advances.