How the Miniaturization of the Camera Affected Wedding Photography

If there is one technological development that had a great impact on wedding photography, then it has to be the miniaturization of the camera. Miniaturization in this context means 'making small of' - like where we see the computer being miniaturized, from being a machine that used to fill huge buildings, into being a machine that can be 'baby sat' on the lap. The early camera, too, was a very huge machine. It was, like many machines of those days, made from the direct application of principles that were being discovered in physics labs. Those were raw principles, and the machines made out of them quite unrefined. So the early camera was the type of machine that filled a building, the building in question this time being the photography studio.

The fact that the early camera was confined to the studio meant that it was a machine that was of very little use in wedding photography. Unless a couple decided to hold their wedding right inside the photographic studio, there was no way they could have the 'wedding event,' the exact moment when they were declared man and wife, captured on film. The best that a couple could hope for was to go to the photographic studio, where the large camera machine was resident, and have photographs of them taken. This they could do right after or right before the wedding ceremony. They had to do it knowing that the pictures they would be getting were to be pictures of how they looked on their wedding day, rather than pictures of the actual 'wedding event.'

The fact that the early camera was such a huge machine also meant that it was expensive. It was also a rare machine. The few studios that had it knew that they could charge a fortune for their services, and get away with it. For this reason, wedding photography in those days was a very expensive venture; and there were many couples who - desire it as they may - found it way beyond their means.

All this was to change with the miniaturization of the camera.

The miniaturization of the camera, at its accomplishment, resulted in a highly portable machine - which was no longer confined to the studio. This was a machine that could be carried to where the wedding ceremony was being held, and be made to capture the 'wedding event.' So from a position where the best a couple hope for was 'photos of how they looked like on their wedding day,' we ended up in a situation where couples could also get photos of the exact 'wedding event:' when they were declared man and wife.

The miniaturization of the camera also made it more affordable. More businesspeople started to invest in the cameras - and with this enhanced competition came a lowering of price. And with the lowering of price came the possibility, for every couple that fancied it (even those that were not so rich), to engage in the wedding photography.