“Watch the birdie!” is something that your photographer won’t say to you in a studio, and neither will you need to pose for long hours for your makeover or wedding photographs. Standing (or sitting down) in a stiff position for a long time is a thing of the past as camera technologies advanced to a level where amateur photographers are able to produce impressive works through lowly priced cameras.

And it comes in colours too.

However, back in the early last century, having a portrait taken was a luxury that not many people could afford and photography studios would welcome the presence of a dignitary in order to advertise themselves to potential customers. Subsequently, photography studios sprang up in numbers and tough competition led to the survival of the fittest – many eventually closed in the mid 1900s.

Studios in the past typically consist of mock-up settings in various styles. Victorian styles seemed to be popular as seen in the many photographs on exhibit. This is something familiar to most Singaporeans as the country had been colonized by the British in the past, which brings with it “westernized cultures and influences”.

While a visit to the studio today is fairly casual, and results of portraits are instantly viewable, this was not the case in the 1900s. People who wanted their portraits taken had to stand or sit for long durations and sometimes, different props were used to distract them from the rigours of posing in a fixed position for a long time. A caged bird is often a popular distraction for the posers – and hence the term “watch the birdie”.

However, at times when posing for a long time is no longer possible without assistance, a contraption is used to help the poser maintain the proper posture. Such a device actually supports the poser by the neck and the upper torso, allowing them to relax a little and possibly giving a better smile. Having said that, not many people in the photographs at the exhibition actually smiled. Hmm…

While we have software to touch up our photographs nowadays, they had their own techniques of doing so, hence giving almost perfect pictures of customers who posed with them. This is however, a much more tedious process than clicking a few buttons in modern image editing software.

If you were to bring children with you to the exhibition, there’s a corner right at the end of the exhibition gallery where you can get them to draw and colour. Of course, the nanny is not included and it’ll be best to at least have someone look after them.

A visit to the exhibition is priceless not only because you can get to appreciate the photographs, but also be able to read a little more of the circumstances that led to the poeple in the photographs posing for the various studios that were once popular in Singapore. If that doesn’t entice you, perhaps the section on photograph preservation would. Although almost all our photographs are in digital format, it may sometimes be useful to know how to preserve the printouts that had been given to us. This is especially so if the photographs are taken from attractions overseas where the digital version is not available for visitors.

So, pop down to the Asians in Monochrome exhibition today (until the 1st February 2009) because the photographs may not be brought together again at a more convenient location.

Tags: Neither East nor West: Asians in Monochrome, Asian Civilisations Museum