When did people first start sitting for photographs?

Question

And when did it become popular and available to those who were not rich?

Answer 1

my oldest photograph is 160 years  old it,s of my gggrandmother....

Answer 2

Overall, I know photos were taken during the Civil War (1860s).  Photographers became more popular between then and 1900, and a lot will depend on your ancestor's residence.

The oldest I have is taken from a tintype, of someone who died in 1890, so I know it is taken not long before that.  A cousin was able to convert it via scanning.  

http://www.cyndislist.com/photos.htm

some sources for learning about old pics.

Have fun.  

Answer 3

Here is a link to photography and the earliest known photograph.

http://www.familychronicle.com/dating.ht...

My earliest photos are undated, but all are estimated to be taken in the late 1800s to early 1900s.  I have pictures of several of my g-g-g-grandparents at various stages of age.

Answer 4

The first photographs were taken in the late 1830s in Europe.  They were of landscapes and still lifes because the sensitive material was not very sensitive and required a long exposure.  In one by Daguerrre you see a street scene with a man getting his boots polished but you don't see the shoe shine guy because he was moving.  Earliest portraits were about 1840 and they required a head rest and no smile because the exposure was still quite lengthy.

Photos for the not so rich?  Tintypes and cartes de visites, both around 1850-1880.

Oldest photo in my possession? Daguerrotype of a paternal relative from about 1850 who looks like a dead brother.