The ones framed and nailed on to the wall or placed on a counter/showcase are, almost always, pictures of family members, with the head of the family seated in the centre. The members characteristically arranged in two rows, based on seniority. The eldest son occupying the seat next to the patriarch of the house, eldest daughter next to the mother, and the rest arranged chronologically by the veteran photographer. Children placed as sentinels on either side, the rest squeezed in between chairs in the tiny studio space. 

The backdrop, the pose, the look…all decided by the photographer, who maintained a set of combs, talcum powder and even a heavy jacket to add a touch of formality to the captured image.

The photographer would then yell a ‘smile’ or a ‘cheese’. The yell factor depending on the size of the family and the ruckus they created to capture their faces in print for generations to come. 

That smile had to be uniform. And, to ensure that, the cameraman would either pull his own cheeks/lips to demonstrate the extent to which the lip has to curve, or come over to physically tilt the head or chin and pat the side of the cheek to get the perfect hint of a smile.

And, in the flash of the bulb, blinding everyone facing the camera, the picture for eternity was taken. The smile replaced with a somber look in the split second it took the photographer to click the shutter.

Then begins the wait for the printed copy, a minimum of one week, creating anxiety among the ‘photographees’ – the younger lot engaging in discussions to determine who would look the best or worst, while the older, more opinionated ones sharpen their razors, ready to guillotine the photographer if any hair was out of place. 

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Over time, that photograph may adopt a weathered look; become chipped and even fog up. But it remains perhaps as the only image of a time when everyone was together as a family. Some of the individuals in the photograph may have since passed away, others may have settled in countries far from their native land, and some may have become estranged due to misunderstandings and family conflicts…

If you have a collection of old black and white photographs, chances are you have lived through a time when cameras were a novelty and a studio were the go-to places for capturing those memories. And, if you are like me, you may want to take a trip down that memory lane – one more time. 

For, black and white photographs from yesteryear are an emotion; they freeze your present, momentarily, to lead you by your heart to that time when life paused to create a memory that is etched forever in the minds of those people posing.