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Identifying Family Photographs 
Family photographs are an important part of researching and illustrating your family history and there are a number of ways in which you may be able to identify them. Firstly it is important to establish what type of photo it is, as there were a number of different sizes and types used over the decades. Some of the most common were Ambrotype 1851-1880, Carte-de-Visite 1857-1890, Cabinet 1866-1905, Snapshot 1881-, Postcard 1905-1940's. Once you have identified what type the photo is you can look for the name of the photographer's studio and address. Reference books such as Tasmanian Photographers 1840-1940: A Directory by Chris Long and The Mechanical Eye in Australia: Photography 1841-1900 will help establish what time period the photographer worked at this address, but be aware sometimes they used old studio cards at a later address. Often when a photographer died or moved from a town, his negatives would be purchased by a photographer remaining in the town, so that he could sell copies, which can result in the same photo being mounted on a different studio card. Post Office and Trade Directories are also a useful source. The next step is to identify clothes, hairstyles and studio backgrounds. A magnifying glass is a useful instrument for examining details in the picture. Great care was taken in dressing in "best clothes" and in dressing the hair. The "best clothes" and accessories may well have been borrowed if the sitter was not sufficiently fashionable or had no decent clothes to wear. At best the date estimated by clothing can be only the earliest date. Simplicity of hairstyles was often preserved into the 1860's. Hair tended to cover the ears in the early part of the decade whereas ears were most likely to be exposed from the middle to late sixties. The 1870's were very much the age of the elaborate coiffure. The backcloths, furniture and props of the Victorian photographer's studio can offer hints as to the date of a picture. Of course settings can only provide a rough guide, as some photographers may hang on to his props and furnishings for years, shuffling them about in new combinations. Nevertheless considered in conjunction with other kinds of information, props and backgrounds had their own fashions and periods of popularity. Even the way in which the photographer dealt with the subject can reflect the changing fashion. Whilst it may be considered only a rough guide, the closer the camera is to the sitter the later the photograph was taken. Photographs, whether a full set of albums or a battered handful of pictures form an important and treasured part of many a family archive. They provide a window through which we gain a glimpse of our own past.
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