Daguerreotype

Daguerreotype: The earliest commercially successful photographic process, invented by Louis Daguerre in 1839. It features a highly detailed, one-of-a-kind image formed directly onto a highly polished, silver-coated copper plate. Because the image rests on what is essentially a literal mirror, digitizing a daguerreotype under a copy stand presents immense lighting challenges. If you photograph it directly, the lens will simply capture its own reflection. Archival capture requires utilizing an axial lighting setup or placing a large sheet of black card stock with a tiny hole for the lens barrel directly in front of the camera to completely eliminate environmental reflections and reveal the positive image.