It was in 1839 at the gallery of the Academy of Sciences that the scientist Francois Arago expressed the most sensational new science discovery of the last decades: Photography.

He had no idea of the upheaval habits this new invention would create. Its immense social and industrial impact still continues to transform our lives today.

The first photograph studio dates from the mid-nineteenth century. At that time, the first photographers used lighting techniques of painters to create photographic portraits. Indeed, the artist/painters studios enjoyed a perfect light for the exposure needed for successful portraits. In artist studios, light in general came from a large window or a skylight facing north, usually a glass ceiling or on the sides of the room.

Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879), was one of the pioneers of portrait photography. She used a technique called “fine arts” applied by painters to magnify the lighting scenes they painted. She later used this lighting technology for his black and white portraits. This artist was animated by the search for beauty and aesthetics that you can perfectly feel in her innovative portraits.

In 1840, with the introduction of “calotypes” (direct negative paper making possible the reproduction of positive images), the characters of the exposure time can be reduced, family portraits have thus become easier to organize and photograph. Photography has become the first paper tells the story of families across generations. Remaining an expensive service and that service photo studio was reserved for the families of the haute bourgeoisie.