The camera tattoo is a great little piece that can represent different meanings depending on the person with the tattoo. Photography has been a hobby enjoyed by many people since the first photographic camera was used in 1777 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele. However, we’ll get more into that when we’re explaining the origins of the camera and what the camera tattoo means to the people that get it.
As said in the previous paragraph, in 1777, Carl Wilhelm Scheel showed that silver chloride was really vulnerable to being darkened by sun exposure. Once it’s darkened, it becomes insoluble in a solution of ammonia. Thomas Wedgwood was the first man to create an image using this method.
The first permanent photo from a camera image was made by Joseph Niépce in 1826. He used a sliding wooden box camera that was created by Vincent and Charles Chevalier. Since 1816, he had been trying to fix the images of the camera obscura. He was able to do so by 1837 and called the process Daguerreotype. He tried to go commercial with the process, but it didn’t take right away.
The use of photographic film was created by George Eastman who began the process in 1885 with manufacturing paper film and then switched to celluloid in 1889. His first camera was called the “Kodak”. You may have heard of this before and in 1888, it went on sale to the public. It was a very simple camera with a single shutter speed and a fixed focus lens. Its low price point was also a positive. By the 19th century, the lineup by Eastman had grown into many models which included folding cameras and box cameras.
The first digital camera was created in 1975 by Steven Sasson. He was a Kodak engineer at the time. It’s funny to think about the first digital camera starting at 0.01 megapixels. By today’s standards, this would hardly work for anyone but back then it was an amazing feat.
After that came the full-frame DSLR that was created in Japan. By the time 2000s came around these DSLR cameras had become the main camera used across society, movies and television. Also in this time frame, the camera phone was invented by Sharp with the J-SH04 J-Phone. As the years passed, only the higher-end phones had built-in cameras but once 2010 rolled around, almost every smartphone had a built-in camera.
Now that you have somewhat of an idea of the timeline for cameras, we can discuss what the camera tattoo means and why so many people decide to capture this image forever on their legs. There isn’t a lot of information out there on why people decide on a camera tattoo, but we have a few ideas by talking to people in the tattoo industry.
Fans of photography are the obvious choice for people that get camera tattoos. Photography allows the person to have a creative outlet to work from. It’s full of technology and it’s fast moving. Because it’s so readily available in our current technology, everyone in the world can take pictures to capture that special moment. For the creative, the camera tattoo represents a big part of their life if they are into photography.
What better way to commemorate your hobby than to get a tattoo of it? The camera tattoo lets others know that you are a fan of snapping shots and keeping them for your memories. 20 years down the road, people will wish they had been taking photographs to remember loved ones or special moments.
Another reason to get a camera tattoo is to represent your introverted lifestyle. It takes a bit of reality out of the equation when you’re looking through the lens. Introversion is defined as being mainly interested in your own self. Introverts can be characterized as being somewhat reflective or reserved. Popular thought by many psychologists is to characterize the introvert as someone whose energy expands through self-reflection while it dwindles when interreacting with others.
Others might get this tattoo for a multitude of reasons. It could represent a lost loved one in their life. This person might have a loved one that was a photographer, so they wanted to commemorate this person by getting a camera tattoo.
You might also get one just to get one. We all know people that get random tattoos because they think it’s funny. I love to see people that get tattoos because they felt a sudden urge to get one. This feels like what getting a tattoo should be all about. Having some fun.
We hope that by reading this post you’ve gathered enough information about the camera tattoo that you know whether you’d like to get one or not. Whether you are a fan of photography or an introverted soul that likes to keep to themselves, the camera tattoo might be for you. We’re not saying these are the only meanings for a camera tattoo but at least it will give you an idea before you jump into anything permanent.
We recommend taking your time when looking for the artist or shop that will do your camera tattoo. People tend to forget these tattoos last for a very long time and you might be kicking yourself if you don’t find the right artist. Doing your research before you go in can pay big dividends down the road when you are looking at your tattoo and still love it.
We have some examples of camera tattoos below for you to take a look at. We hope that by reading this post and checking out the pictures, you can narrow down your search in some capacity. In addition, if you are still having trouble deciding on a tattoo artist or shop to visit, please reach out to us here at Tattoo SEO. We would love to help you by making a recommendation for a shop or artist. We know the process can be stressful so let us help you out.