now , advanced photo redaction software makes it easy to make anyone look utter . Photoshop away any imperfections , change the contrast , or automatically adjust the light — it ’s as simple as clicking a few buttons . likewise , before picture taking was invented , painters engage by flush client could merely omit any imperfections from their portrait . “ Photoshopping ” could be done mentally , even before brushing touched canvas .
But what about that awkward point between the invention of photography and the introduction of pic editing software ? How did early photographers make their subjects look skillful — or was portrayal briefly a much more brutally honest art form ?
grant toSmithsonian , Victorian - geological era photographers quickly figured out how to fake their photo in rules of order to make their subjects look their best . The predominant photographic print at this meter was called the white flatware print , and was produced by coating paper with a mixture of egg whites and table salt , and dipping it into silver nitrate . The paper was then placed in middleman with the negative and exposed to light . Before printing their picture , photographers would use pencil to manually scratch touch - ups onto the negative themselves . They developed a variety of scratch technique either to shade or highlight their images — for example , they ’d use a fine - pointed pencil to tally highlights , or a free-spoken pencil and “ cross - hatching ” technique to brighten up parts of the face .
The negatives themselves looked pretty foreign . People ’s case appeared scratched , cracked , or pockmarked , depend on the lensman ’s technique . But the scratches did n’t appear in the final print . rather , the minuscular scratch showed up as a boldness - bone defining shadow or a healthy glow — creating with a pencil some of the same result today ’s exposure editors are achieving digitally .
[ h / tSmithsonian ]
