Before the world moved on to using advance automated software for photo editing, photo editing and manipulation was not done the way it is being right now. Like all the other things, photo editing techniques being used today emerged from decades of improvisation and improvements. Let’s take a deep dive into the history of photo editing.
The first photograph
Before jumping to the photo editing, let’s discuss the first photograph taken in the world. Way back in 1826 the Frenchman Joseph Nicéphore Niépce holds the credit of the world’s first photograph. The photograph was created using the ‘camera obscura’ on a tin plate that was covered with layer of Syrian asphalt. The picture showed the view from Niépce’s workshop window. It is amazing to note that the first photograph was created in a period of eight hours, after being in contact with direct sunlight during the eight hour period.
From the first photograph to editing software
From the time of the first photograph and before the world moved on to using photo editing software, many important happenings are worth mentioning. The most important of them all was the first color photograph. Taken by James Clerk Maxwell by combining three images with different filters (green, red and blue), Maxwell left a meaningful deep impact on the photo editing and image manipulation industry. Creation of the modern photo paper that took place in 1979 is an equally important event. It was when J. Swan opened the doors of his first production facility that was churning out special gelatin-based halogen-silver photo paper. In 1884, E. Eastman received a patent for the roller film on a paper substrate and cassette. It is still considered as one of the most important innovation in the industry. The world moved fast from roller films to portable cameras and then to digital cameras.
Editing before advance software
Before the advance software that are available today were present, photo editing was a process that required a lot of time and money. Only the richest photographers were able to undertake slight modification to their images. However, as the world progressed, photo equipment also kept developing and started reaching a large set of audience. It was way back in 1846 that, Calvert Richard Jones took a picture of five Capuchin monks on the roof of a building in Malta. While four of them were placed close in a group, the fifth one was a few feet behind. Jones believed that the fifth monk destroyed the integrity of the picture. Hence, using Indian ink, he painted over the figure on the negative and the fifth monk began to look like a white patch on the sky.
How image retouching was done
Compared to the advance tools available today, image retouching in the history was undertaken in a very different manner. After the negative was generated from the camera, the image was processed with chemicals in the Darkroom with a view to fix and develop the edited image. The image retouching exercise was always undertaken on a special table. The table would have a variable inclination angle of the working surface. The negative was placed on a special frame and shone through from behind using the mirror or a reflective surface. At the same time, the location of the table was equally important. As the photo editor had to place his/her hand in front of a window that was facing north. It was believed that the light on the north side was less changeable.
Face retouching was a delicate work
Fore such delicate work, surgeon’s scalpel clade was used and the process was known as etching. The work was so delicate that only the experiences retouchers were allowed to do it. While brightening the images was done by etching, it was followed by darkening the other areas using a hard graphite pencil of brush dipped in ink or watercolors.
Difficulties faced in the past
Apart from the log editing process, the photography process has faced many difficulties in the past. For instance, multiple pictures were taken in order to select the best one. Also, models had to spend many hours in the studio to get the perfect portrait shots.
