Assignment 1 - Portraits in The Early Days of Photography and Portraits Today

the main differences and similarities between portraits in the early days of photography and portraits today

In the early days, portrait photography  is a fine art portraiture, an artistic representation, in which the face and expression is predominant. Today photography is also an artistic representation, but no more focus on face and expression. It can express everything today. The similarities are the ability to capture images and deliver ideas from pictures both in the early days and today.

In the same year Daguerreotype was invented, the world’s first human portrait was born.

World’s First Human Portrait (Santoso, 2006).

Robert Cornelius's self-portrait - "The first light picture ever taken"

In 1839, Robert Cornelius, took a daguerreotype portrait of himself outside of his family’s store and made the world’s first human photograph (Santoso, 2006)!

Who was the photographer and who was the subject of photographs in the past and today?

In the early days only the person that received well training course were the photographer. Today everyone is the photographer when the tool and process of photography is becoming more and more cheap and available.  In the early days face and expression is predominant, while today the subject can be everything.

 What was the impact of technology on the portraits in the past and today?

Because of technology in the past only a little person can become photographer and are available to the tools and instruments. Today camera is so easy and convenience to use.