portrait of girl, unknown maker

This picture is a very early form of photography called a daguerreotype. It is named after the inventor of this photographic process, Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre. Does the little girl in the picture look happy and relaxed, or not? When photography was first created in the 19th century, it could take up to eight hours to make a single image. Daguerreotypes like this one were created by first covering a metal sheet with the chemical iodine to make it sensitive to light and then by placing it in a box. Light was allowed to enter the box through a lens. After a certain amount of time, the metal sheet was removed and soaked in a warm mercury vapor (another chemical), which revealed the image. Other inventors experimented to improve the lenses, camera box, and chemistry of the process so that pictures could be taken more quickly. How does this process differ from how you take photographs today? Imagine yourself living in the 1800s, a time when you would have to sit completely still for hours to have your picture taken. Think about facial experession and pose. How do you think this would affect the way your portrait would look?