The photographic portrait

The photographic portrait was already popular in the daguerreotype era. In 1854, French photographer Andre Adolphe Eugene Disderi invented the carte de visite portrait, which immediately met with colossal success. Portrait-taking became a flourishing activity which would lose its power in the face of photographic techniques as they became available to all. Its aesthetic would gain in stature in accordance with fashions of the day.

The photographer’s studio was a world in itself, either small or large depending on the owner’s means… In the waiting room, customers were free to peruse albums placed at their disposal and think about the setting which would best suit them. The customer then moved on into the portrait studio, a large space bathed in light, thanks to an atrium window, which was also the source of uncomfortable variations in atmospheric conditions, if one believed the things people said about them…

Once the background (painted canvas), the furniture and the accessories had been chosen, the models struck their pose, helped by the headrest in order to stay still during the long seconds it took for the exposure to happen! The photographer adjusted the natural light with the help of curtains around the atrium and white reflector screens; it was not until the 1880s that it became possible to use electric light.

When that was all set up, all that was left was to release the shutter! The camera used by the photographer, a studio body, stood on a tripod; it was fitted with a special lens for taking portraits: with a slightly long focal length, and above all a big aperture, which allowed for a reduction in exposure times. The sensitive plates were typically 13x18cm or 18x24cm format.

Illustration:
Studio room Roth & Cie, Biel, ca. 1910.
For a plate format of 18×24 cm; the frosted glass is modern.
The painted background, the velvet covered chair and the headrest come from the Taeschler workshop in St. Gallen, late 19th century.