TIP: Photos that obviously dont make sense
whenever you find a photo on line of some distant relative - be sure to do some basic analysis to ensure basic integrity of the photo and who it is claimed to be.
Again and again I find photos in Ancestry.com that are blatantly attributed to one person - when they clearly were not.
Be very cautious of any photo for a person who died before 1845. Photography was not around for many years before that and was not widespread until about 1850.
In Ancestry I often see portraits and images of famous people - that were merely meant to show the style of clothing for a certain period or time and other people then think it is someone who it isnt and it gets posted as someone else's image.
and just because you find a photo for John Doe out there on the Internet - dont just assume it is YOUR John Dow.
Some examples of items that arent what they claim to be.
William Guthrie photo linked to wrong William Guthrie
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/L6R5-J19
James Guthrie Photo for a person who died in 1841
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/2MSH-HGR
Images for William Yancey - which are images of famous people etc and not William Yancey
https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/LRYD-Q3H
Do some basic cross checking and analysis before blindly just posting something that is obviously not what it claims to be.
Answers
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It wasn't really widespread and affordable for the masses until years after that, and even then they were still mostly limited to studio portraits. Celluloid and shutter photography that allowed for candid, everyday photos weren't available until around 1885-90.
It's also worth it to become familiar with fashion trends. For example, long neckties were basically non-existent in America before about 1870, mass-manufactured suits weren't around until decades later. Women's fashion, particularly skirt designs and hats can be even more useful, but take more effort to identify. Same goes with furniture or any piece of technology you might be able to spot.
Lastly, get familiar with Google's image search capabilities. It's useful for finding photos people grabbed offline and slapped a name onto.
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