Many parents today take pictures of their children to send to family, friends, and to save for looking back upon in the future. As it turns out, parents on the Montana prairie a century ago were not so different! Many families hired Evelyn Cameron to take pictures of their children, which posed an interesting challenge for her.

Because the cameras in Evelyn's day had very slow shutter speeds, people and animals had to stay still while having their picture taken. Because of their natural desire to move and play, the children Evelyn photographed often moved before the camera finshed its exposure, resulting in a blurry image, a wasted glass plate negative, and an angry Evelyn. 

Content for this resource was taken from the Montana PBS film, Evelyn Cameron: Pictures From a Worthy Life.