History of Child Photography

Joseph Niecpe made a breakthrough in the invention of photography in 1827. He went into partnership with Louis Daguerre, and the Daguerre-type process of photography soon became famous throughout much of the world. In England, in 1835, William Fox-Talbot produced the first negative. The art of photography took off, and children became one of the favorite subjects of emerging photographers. This development allowed the poorer classes to capture images of their children in photographs, an option previously enjoyed only by the wealthy in portraits.

Victorian Images

Victorian families looked at a visit to the photographic studios as a serious business. Parents and children posed in a formal manner, and the habit of smiling for the camera had not yet developed. Many children died early of infectious diseases and were commonly photographed after death as a keepsake for their parents. The Victorians did not look upon this as morbid or taboo, and the practice did not fall out of fashion until the end of the 19th century.

Photography and Reform

Soon, social commentators and photographers began to see the opportunities to use images to campaign for social reform. A Danish man, Joseph Riis, settled in the U.S. and began to capture in photographs the experience of poor families, particularly children. He worked for the New York Herald and also published a book: "How the Other Half Lives: Studies Amongst the Tenements of New York" (1890). Eventually this helped pave the way for programs for reform.

Working Conditions of Children

Lewis W. Hine began taking photographs of the children of immigrants in 1904, in Ellis Island. He concentrated on the faces of the children, their meagre luggage and the processing of their arrival into the country. In 1907, he was appointed as investigator, photographer and reporter for the National Child Labor Committee, and for several years, he photographed children at work. He released his portfolio to a great storm of publicity in 1916, which helped bring about new laws on child labor.

Victorian Views of Children

Victorian society held quite differing views on childhood. The wealthy celebrated the beauty and innocence of childhood, while poorer children worked in mills and factories. The rich developed the practice of taking sentimentalized photographs of their children, often with animals or other props. The new emerging middle classes visited the many photographic studios which had proliferated, capturing an image of their families for future generations.

Reverend Charles Dodgson

Reverend Charles Dodgson, best known as Lewis Carroll and the author of "Alice in Wonderland" (1865) and "Through the Looking Glass" (1872), took thousands of photographs, particularly of children. He was a mathematician and keen photographer as well as an author. He took many photographs of Alice Liddell, who some think was the inspiration for Alice. He again seemed to hold a sentimental view of childhood innocence and emphasized this perspective in his images.

References

• Robert Leggat: History of Photography

Resources

• "The History of Photography: An Overview"; Alma Davenport; 1999