Directory of Indiana Photographers

This project, coordinated by the Indiana Album, Inc., documents photographers who worked in the state between 1841 and the present (especially prior to 1920), including studio owners and partners, serious amateurs, employees, postcard photographers, and others in the photography field.

Biographical information about photographers, their operating dates, and known locations help historians, genealogists, archivists, and collectors to:

1) More accurately date photographs
Because photographers often moved, especially as they became established, a town or address can sometimes narrow down the date of a photograph to within a year. Dates of studio partnerships, known eras that a photographer made specific processes or formats, or the use of tax stamps or particular logos, all help date images such as real photo postcards, stereoviews, cased images, cartes de visite, and other photographs.

2) Determine copyright
Knowing the death date of a photographer is essential to determining copyright and assigning one of the twelve Rights Statements now required by Indiana Memory and the Digital Public Library of America. We will soon add research notes about copyright registration (as recorded in the Catalog of Copyright Entries) and will track when a photographer's works are in the public domain.

3) Acknowledge and recognize the creators
We research not only the studio owners, but also their camera operators, darkroom helpers, and assistants. In addition, a whole industry of female photographic employees helped create images, often unacknowledged. Affiliated but nameless wives or daughters, young women retouchers, and female studio owners are all worthy of further research.

We have searched thousands of newspapers, directories, histories, photograph imprints, and other sources and have transcribed many articles. Later versions will include sources, but in the meantime click View Raw Data at the bottom of each photographer's biography page to view data in its raw form. The directory is far from finished and we seek public input to help us flesh out the details. Please share your feedback or leave a comment to add information and make corrections. If you find this directory helpful, read about our exciting future plans here and make a donation to help us transform this static web page into a dynamic, searchable resource.

		Photographers by Last Name		Alphabetical list of photographers, along with studio names, worker types, estimated dates, names used, city and state, and studio addresses.
		Photographers by State and County		Alphabetical listing of photographers within the counties that they worked.
		Photographers by City and State		Alphabetical listing of photographers within the cities that they worked.

		Studios by Studio Name		under development
		Studios by State and County		under development