When did photography become popular with ordinary people?

In the 19th century, photography emerged in various styles such as war photography, portraiture, and architectural photography. However, it was only in the early 20th century that photography became more accessible to the general public with formats such as 35 mm (also called 135 film) 105, 110, 120, 126, and 127.

35 mm in particular gained popularity throughout the 20th Century. The format was readily available due to it being used as stock for motion pictures. Its portability and size in turn made cameras much more compact, in particular the introduction of the Leica 1(A) which allowed more accessibility to the masses. This accessibility allowed photojournalism to become popular and gave people the power to document social injustice and inequality.

Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange. (free domain) & Home of an Italian Ragpicker Jersey Street by Jacob Riis (free domain)

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  • Who first invented photography?

    Who first invented photography?

    It was Joseph Nicéphore Niépce who successfully captured the first photographic image using the Camera Obscura, by taking a view from the window of his house.

  • When were wetplates invented?

    The wet plate photography process was invented during the 1850s by Gustave Le Gray who theorized about the development process, and Frederick Scott Archer who was hands-on in devising the actual steps of how to create an image on a wet plate.

  • How was the first sequential photograph taken?

    The Horse In Motion by Eadweard Muybridge is the first known sequential photograph. It was captured in 1878 and used by then Californian governor Leland Stanford to investigate whether a horse’s gallop resulted in all four hooves being in the air at the same time.

  • When was instant photography invented?

    The first instant camera was created by Samuel Shlafrock in 1923. However, because it was not commercially successful, Edwin Herbert Land is often credited with being the inventor of instant photography with his camera, the Polaroid Model 95.

  • Who created the first optic lens?

    Ancient civilizations polished crystals, mostly quartz, to replicate the optical abilities that can be found when looking at water. The most famous of these experiments was the Nimrud lens which was made by the Assyrians between 750–710 BC.

  • When did cameras start using film?

    Photographic film was revolutionized by George Eastman, who eliminated the need for wet plates by introducing the concept of paper film in 1885.

  • When was color photography invented?

    When was color photography invented?

    Color photography was the subject of numerous experiments in the 19th century, and it was officially confirmed that the first colored photograph was produced by James Clerk Maxwell in 1861.