Even though people themselves probably haven’t changed a whole lot over the years, the world around us certainly has. Clothes fall in and out of style, hairstyles come and go, and everything from living rooms to city streets can look completely different from one decade to the next.
Looking back at old photos is a fun way to see just how much things have transformed. That’s why, over on r/TheWayWeWere, Redditors share vintage snapshots that capture everyday moments from the past. We’ve rounded up some of the best ones below. Scroll down to see them for yourself.
#1 My Stylish Grandma, Holding A Gigantic Baby (My Dad)
Image source: SlagQueen
#2 My Grandparents Aged 15 And 14 In The Late 1940s
Image source: moomoomeggy
#3 Surfers In The 60s
Image source: AdSpecialist6598, tang.skidmore
These days, taking a photo barely takes any effort. We pull out our phones, open the camera app and snap away as many times as we like. According to research from UK photo printing chain Max Spielmann, more than 90% of photos are now taken with smartphones.
Around 1.8 trillion are captured on phones worldwide every year, which works out to roughly 4.7 billion a day. It’s hard to even wrap your head around that number. Just imagine how many cats, lunches and accidental pocket shots are hiding in there.
#4 My Mom (Age 15) Stretching The Phone Cord For Some Privacy. St. Louis Park, MN, Circa 1959
Image source: OnTheRightSide2020
#5 My Dad Visiting His Grandad In His Final Days, He Wanted To See The Dog – My Favourite Family Photo
Image source: AlarmedCourse8
#6 2 Men Look With Bright Smiles At A Sleeping Baby, New York, 1940
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
Getting to that point took a very long time. One of the ancestors of the modern camera was the camera obscura, a darkened room or box that let light through an opening and projected an image onto a surface inside.
Artists used versions of it centuries ago to help with drawing. The big problem was that the image couldn’t simply be saved. That required people to figure out how light could leave a permanent mark on a material.
#7 Passengers Aboard An Eastern Airlines Flight From The UK To Australia, 1935. Flight Took 11 Days (With Stops)
Image source: OkRegister4542
#8 A Bridal Party In The 70s
Image source: AdSpecialist6598
#9 A Japanese Woman In The 70s
Image source: AdSpecialist6598
French inventor Nicéphore Niépce eventually managed to do just that. His 1827 heliograph, made with the help of a camera obscura, is considered the earliest surviving photograph produced in one.
Photography moved forward again in 1839, when Louis Daguerre’s daguerreotype process was announced publicly. It created highly detailed images on silver-coated copper plates and soon became popular for portraits. By 1850, New York City alone had more than 70 daguerreotype studios.
#10 A Party In In 1970s
Image source: AdSpecialist6598
#11 My First Day Of College, 1971
Image source: dittidot
#12 Portrait Of A Fisherman, Korea Late 19th C
Image source: myrmekochoria, Cornell University Library
Photography gradually became much more practical for ordinary people. In 1888, George Eastman introduced the original Kodak camera, which came loaded with enough roll film for 100 exposures.
Once people finished the roll, they sent the entire camera back to Kodak, where the film was developed and the camera reloaded. Suddenly, taking pictures required far less technical knowledge, helping move photography beyond studios and into everyday hands.
#13 My Great Grandma Walking With My Grandma In Downtown Houston, TX 1945
Image source: Pinkpunk95
#14 The Pony Picture 1955 Me And My Two Brothers I Am A Twin And Our Brother Is 11 Months Older
Image source: Blujeanstraveler
#15 Dog Photobombing 1939
Image source: AllThingsBread
Another huge step came with smaller cameras. In 1925, the Leica I made its public debut as the company’s first 35mm camera in serial production. Its compact size made it much easier for photographers to carry a camera around and capture spontaneous moments.
That helped make Leica a favorite for street photography and photojournalism, where photographers often wanted to catch people and places as they really looked instead of carefully setting up every shot.
#16 My Grandfather With A Fresh Gladstone Bag, And Medical Degree At 23 Years Old. 1925 Maryland
Image source: dickwae
#17 Marriage In The 60’s
Image source: Certain_Morning1229
#18 Lady Smiles For Her Estudio Portrait, Circa Mid 1960s
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
Meanwhile, another big change came when photographers finally figured out how to capture images in color instead of just black and white. In 1907, the Lumière brothers introduced Autochrome, the first commercially viable color photography process.
The results were color transparencies on glass, and taking them was still a long way from the simple point-and-shoot experience we know today. Color photography continued improving over the following decades, eventually becoming a normal part of family albums rather than something unusual.
#19 Teenage Girls Fashion In 1907
Image source: DependentPretty5994
#20 My Parents During The 1960s
Image source: Easy_Basis_3125
#21 The Old Look Of Pizza Hut Before It Was Changed, 1970s
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
Still, taking a good photo required plenty of work, especially when it came to getting the shot in focus. That changed in 1977, when the Konica C35AF became the world’s first commercially released autofocus camera. Instead of adjusting the focus by hand every time, photographers could finally let the camera do that part for them.
Around the same time, photography was starting its move from film to digital. In 1975, Kodak engineer Steve Sasson built an early digital camera prototype. It was about the size of a toaster and captured black-and-white images at just 0.01 megapixels.
From there, it was only a matter of time before digital cameras got smaller and eventually found their way into our phones.
#22 Autochrome Shot Of A Young Lady Looking At The Viewer, Circa 1910s
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#23 Mother & Daughter Downtown Chicago 1971
Image source: MIKEPR1333
#24 Photobooth Shot Of A Young Couple, Marksville, Louisiana, 1958
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
Photography has come an incredibly long way from projected images inside dark boxes to billions of pictures being taken on phones every day. Knowing how much effort once went into creating a single photograph makes the old snapshots in this list feel a little more special.
They preserved ordinary moments using technology that was still finding its way toward what we have today, and now they give us the chance to see how people spent their days decades later.
#25 My Dad And His Mom 1930
Image source: OneLaneHwy
#26 My Great Grandma+sister, Circa 1930s
Image source: SnooLobsters2956
#27 My Grandmother In Loaf Mode. Port Republic, Maryland C. 1920
Image source: dickwae
#28 My Great Grandma Evelyn In 1938, Age 21
Image source: notyogrannysgrandkid
#29 Grandma And Grandpa Swapping Clothes On Their Honeymoon, 1949
Image source: Iamoldsowhat
#30 I Found A Tote Full Of Old Dry Plate Negatives!
Image source: tylarframe
#31 Some More Photos From The Tote Full Of Old Dry Plate Negatives I Found
Image source: tylarframe
#32 Holding My First Very Own Cat, 1959
Image source: dittidot
#33 The Dry Plate Negative Saga Continues
Image source: tylarframe
#34 I Have One Final Batch Of Dry Plate Negative Scans To Share
Image source: tylarframe
#35 Teenage Sisters Gertrude And Ursula Falke. Germany, 1906
Image source: WorldHub995
#36 Christmas, 1980s
Image source: Darknightster
#37 Young Lady Hold A Spear Size Icecle At The Door Of Her Apartment, Schenectady, New York, 1956
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#38 My 2nd Great-Grandma Judy And Her Adoring Breakfast Companion, C. 1910
Image source: Lesochka
#39 My Parents On Their Wedding Day July 10th, 1965
Image source: ConsciousScore12
#40 A Wedding The 70s
Image source: AdSpecialist6598
#41 My Mom (Mid 70s)
Image source: methnen
#42 Mom And Dad And Their Silver Camaro 1978
Image source: methnen
#43 My Mom As An Army Nurse In ’74. She Retired After 45 Years As An Rn
Image source: Trees_Please_00
#44 The Last Day Of School In 1977
Image source: AdSpecialist6598
#45 Family Poses Together At Backyard. Daughters Using Twin Dresses With The Little Chubby Toddler Being Held By Sister And Father, 1970s
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#46 My Grandpa In The Late 50’s When He Served In The Navy
Image source: penny_n
#47 My Mom, On Her Honeymoon In Florida, In December, 1963
Image source: ecobot
#48 A Family In Front Of Their New House, 126 Years Ago. (1900)
Image source: LovelyWhimsy_
#49 My Mom On Her Wedding Day June 10th, 1972
Image source: dmode112378
#50 Worker From The London Zoo, Shining Turtle Shells With Oil, London, England 1930s
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#51 Man Laughs As He Is Chased By A Lady With A Stick To Jam His Pennyfarthing, 1900. Glass Negative Shot With Some Blurr
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#52 My Great-Grandfather With His Puppy Bia, Sometime In The Early 1980’s
Image source: vdcsX
#53 My Grandparents First Date At The Local Milkshake Bar. Circa 1949, Nsw Australia
Image source: Cahsrhilsey
#54 My Grandma Dorothy And Her Best Friend Jane In Summer 1937, Syracuse NY
Image source: DarthTurt
#55 Young Couple Posing For Their Portrait Together, Circa 1890s
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#56 I’ll Never Be As Cool As My Grandparents, 1950’s
Image source: biasalinas
#57 Civil War Veteran Poses With His Grandchildren, Circa 1880. Cabinet Card
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#58 Father Posing With His 2 Childrens And Dog, Circa 1880s
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#59 My Mémère And Pépère, Circa 1930 – 50
Image source: ghost-eggs
#60 A Girl And Her Pet Toad, Venice Beach, California, 1936
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#61 Back With Another Installment Of Scans!
Image source: tylarframe
#62 Father Holds Her Daughter Who Sits On His Leg For Their Portrait, Circa 1870s. Tintype
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#63 Young Lady Posing For Her Double Shot, Junction City, Kansas, 1917. Glass Negative
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#64 My Nan And Pop On Their Wedding Day, 1958
Image source: Odd_Passage9433
#65 My Grandma And Her Little Sister (With Their Parents). Sydney, Australia. 1930s vs. 60 Years Later
Image source: Caitlyn_Grace
#66 My Grandfather Through The Years. Aged 8, 21, 26, And Late 60s (1927, 1940, 1945, And Late ’80s)
Image source: rhit06
#67 My Grandpa (Macdaddy) Posing For A Family Photo C. 1975
Image source: furious_styles2023
#68 The “Clasp The Faux Fur Stole”pose With My Boyfriend Before Leaving For The Big Dance. 1971
Image source: dittidot
#69 My Grandmother. Raised On A Farm During The Depression. Always Had An Incredible Sense Of Style, Even At A Young Age
Image source: Purple_Bill6384
#70 My Friend And Me Posing After Being Voted “Most Spirited” In High School, 1971
Image source: dittidot
#71 The Haul Of Toys On My Mom’s 9th Birthday – 1961, Long Beach, CA, USA
Image source: pm_me_x-files_quotes
#72 Line For The Bathroom At A Camp In Norway, 1947
Image source: Electrical-Aspect-13
#73 1977 California Family
Image source: Amy_Macadamia
#74 My Mother (Left) And Her Best Friend, Dolores (Right) C. 1953
Image source: ImperialGrace20
#75 Caesar, My Grandmother’s Dog, Greeting Me At The Door. 1957
Image source: dittidot
#76 Love Is Love. These Are My Grandparents In The Late 1950’s/Early 1960’s, Germany
Image source: Terela88
#77 “Tough, I Am” – One Eye Pete, CA 1890
Image source: UrbanAchievers6371
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