I've thought that too but have really not seen any discussion about it. Fortunate for us there was such a trade :-) One of several photos got me wondering about it. Look at the site below and scroll down near end. You'll see pic of Sophia Sandlin Couch and her children. She is widowed here and another on the way. Thinking maybe these families even paid the photographer with food or other goods. Can't imagine they could spare a dime if they even had it for a family photo. http://www.owsleykyhist.org/ Kathy Kentucky Couch Kin http://swapasource.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Canopy2@aol.com To: kathyl@sssnet.com Sent: Friday, December 31, 2004 10:52 AM Subject: Re: [KENTUCKIANA-L] photos...how did they do it? Kathy, my thought on the photos is that there had to be traveling photographers. I have old photos of some poor families standing out in front of an old unpainted house, with not a bush or a blade of grass in sight. They are all wearing simple house dresses, and the men are in pants with suspenders and their shirt sleeves rolled up. I bet they did not get to a town 2 or 3 times a year. This was in Texas and those towns were few and far between in the early 1900's. In the years before, when they were in GA, they had a big family studio portrait made, because they were closer to civiIization. I am sure someone saw the need for this occupation, and set out on the road with a camera. Pat Durham McRae