Photography went from a specialist craft to something ordinary people owned around the 1960s and 1970s

For most of the 1800s and early 1900s, photography required expensive equipment, chemical knowledge, and a darkroom. You had to be wealthy or trained to do it. The shift happened in stages: first with easier film cameras in the 1930s, then with color film becoming affordable in the 1950s, and finally with compact cameras and automatic exposure in the 1960s. By the 1970s, owning a camera was normal for a middle-class household, not a luxury.

The real turning point was the Kodak Instamatic, introduced in 1963. It used drop-in cartridges instead of threading film by hand, cost around $16, and worked without manual settings. Suddenly, anyone could take a photograph without being a technician. Within a few years, millions of households had one.

Key Takeaways

  • Photography became common in the 1960s and 1970s when compact cameras with automatic features made it accessible to non-specialists.
  • The Kodak Instamatic (1963) was the first camera designed for ordinary people—it used straightforward cartridge film and required no manual adjustments.
  • Color film became affordable and widely available in the 1950s, making color photography practical for hobbyists instead of professionals only.
  • Before the 1960s, owning a camera meant having darkroom space, chemical knowledge, and significant money; most people relied on professional photographers for portraits.

Why photography was rare before the 1950s

Early photography, from the 1840s through the 1920s, was slow and difficult. You had to coat glass plates with light-sensitive chemicals, expose them in a large wooden camera, and develop them when ready in a darkroom. A single photograph took hours and cost what an unskilled worker earned in a week. Only wealthy people and professionals could afford it.

Film on rolls, invented by George Eastman in the 1880s, made photography faster. But you still had to load the film in darkness, send it away to be developed, and wait weeks for prints. The camera itself was bulky and expensive. Through the 1930s and 1940s, cameras were still specialist equipment. Most families had no camera at all; they visited a portrait studio when they wanted a photograph.

The shift in the 1950s: color film and better cameras

Kodachrome color film, introduced in 1935, was beautiful but complicated and expensive. Kodak's Ektachrome film, released in 1946, was easier to process and cheaper. By the 1950s, color film was becoming standard for hobbyists and serious amateurs. At the same time, camera manufacturers began making smaller, lighter cameras with built-in light meters—no more guessing at exposure settings.

Cameras like the Pentax and Canon rangefinders of the 1950s were still expensive (around $100 to $200), but they were genuinely portable and reliable. A serious amateur could now carry a camera, take dozens of photographs on a roll of film, and get them back from a drugstore in a few days. Photography was becoming a hobby, not a profession.

The 1963 Instamatic: the moment it became ordinary

The Kodak Instamatic changed everything because it removed every barrier except cost. You didn't thread film—you dropped in a cartridge. You didn't set aperture or shutter speed—the camera did it automatically. You didn't need a light meter or a manual. The camera was small enough to fit in a pocket, cost $16 to $20 new, and worked reliably.

Kodak sold over 10 million Instamatics in the first few years. Families bought them for vacations, school events, and holidays. By the late 1960s, a camera in the house was normal. Drugstores and supermarkets had film and developing services. Photography stopped being something you learned and started being something you just did.

Why the 1970s locked in the habit

The 1970s saw the rise of the SLR camera (single-lens reflex) as an affordable option. Models like the Canon AE-1 (1976) brought automatic exposure to serious photography at a price ordinary people could manage. At the same time, when ready film cameras like the Polaroid SX-70 (1972) let you see a photograph seconds after taking it—no waiting, no darkroom, no chemistry knowledge.

Color film became the standard. Drugstores and supermarkets had developing labs. Photography magazines and camera clubs grew. By 1980, a household camera was as normal as a radio. The shift from "photography is a skill" to "photography is something you do" was complete.

What changed between then and now

Digital cameras arrived in the 1990s and became affordable in the 2000s. Smartphones with built-in cameras, starting with the iPhone in 2007, made photography universal—everyone carried a camera all the time. But the real shift from rare to common happened in the 1960s and 1970s, when the equipment became cheap, straightforward, and reliable enough that you didn't have to think about it.

The difference between 1960 and 1975 was bigger than the difference between 1975 and today. In 1960, most people had never owned a camera. By 1975, most households had one. The technology got better after that, but the habit was already formed.

How professionals adapted

Professional photographers didn't disappear when amateurs got cameras. Instead, the profession split. Wedding photographers, portrait studios, and news photographers moved to better equipment and specialized skills. Amateurs took snapshots; professionals took photographs that required training, expensive gear, and an eye for composition. The market grew instead of shrinking—more photographs meant more demand for good ones.

By the 1980s, professional photography had moved to faster film, better lenses, and specialized cameras for different jobs. Amateurs had their Instamatics and Polaroids. Both groups coexisted, serving different needs. The professionalization of photography happened alongside its democratization, not instead of it.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did most American households own a camera?

By the mid-1970s, owning a camera was normal for middle-class households. The Instamatic's success in the 1960s made that possible. Before 1960, most families had no camera at all and relied on professional photographers for portraits.

Why was photography so expensive before the 1960s?

Early cameras were large, fragile, and required darkroom chemicals and knowledge to use. Film had to be developed when ready or sent away for processing. A single photograph cost what an unskilled worker earned in a day or more. Equipment was handmade and specialized.

Did color photography exist before the 1950s?

Yes, but it was rare and difficult. Kodachrome film existed from 1935, but it was expensive and required special processing. Color photography was mostly used by professionals and wealthy hobbyists. Affordable color film for amateurs arrived in the 1950s.

What made the Instamatic so important?

It was the first camera designed for people with no photography knowledge. It had automatic exposure, straightforward film loading, and cost under $20. Within years, millions of families owned one. It proved that ordinary people wanted cameras—they just needed them to be straightforward and cheap.

Did digital cameras replace film cameras when ready?

No. Digital cameras were expensive and low-quality through the 1990s. Film cameras remained common through the 2000s. Smartphones with cameras, starting around 2007, made digital photography universal because everyone already carried a phone. That shift happened faster than film to digital did.