How Kodak Put Photography Into the Hands of the General Public by Inventing the ‘Snapshot’

Vox producer Coleman Lowndes explained how, in the late 19th century, Kodak took the very expensive and complex hobby of photography and put it into the hands of the general public.

In 1888, the Eastman Kodak Company rolled out a new camera and a new slogan. “You press the button, we do the rest.” To say this moment revolutionized photography would be an understatement.

They first introduce the roll film camera Kodak No. 1 in 1888, which came pre-filled. Then later in 1900, the less expensive (and less complicated) Brownie was introduced, letting anyone take a snapshot of their life. They further simplified photography with their line of Instamatic cameras, which included a line pocket cameras that were easy to pull out and capture a “Kodak Moment”.

When Kodak introduced the Brownie and sold it for a dollar in 1900, photography went fully mainstream. The company dominated the film sales and development market during the 20th century and successfully marketed its automatic cameras as crucial to capturing fleeting moments — at home and on vacation.

Sadly, Kodak became less popular as digital cameras entered the scene, and eventually declared bankruptcy. The company reemerged with a slightly different focus.

By the peak of the digital camera era in 2010, Kodak had fallen far behind in market share. They filed for bankruptcy in 2012, later reemerging with a focus on digital printing services, rather than film development.