Acting Out

By the 1880s, sitters across the United States were visiting photography studios to perform for the camera. They embedded themselves in exotic settings, pretended they were caught dressing to go out, joked around with one another, and even seemed to magically multiply within a single image. These playful challenges to the assumed veracity of photography were widely understood and enjoyed.

Then, in 1900, Eastman Kodak Company introduced its $1 Brownie camera. Immediately, the ability to take photographs was in the hands of almost anyone. The informal attitude toward photography introduced by cabinet cards was only amplified by snapshots, with images becoming far more personal and haphazard.