In January, the horror film " Bride about one unusual family. It all starts with the fact that after the wedding, a young woman persuades her husband to take her with him to his relatives, who live in a small, almost abandoned town. She soon begins to regret her request. Vanya's family wants to hold a mysterious wedding ceremony according to their traditions, and Nastya begins to be frightened by terrible dreams and incomprehensible forebodings. An attempt to understand what is happening leads the girl to a strange find - a box with photographs of dead people. We decided to tell a little about the real origins of these pictures.
In the second half of the 19th century, more or less wealthy people had a terrible custom - to photograph the dead. This became possible with the invention of the daguerreotype: taking a photograph was cheaper than commissioning a portrait, but still expensive enough to use this novelty often. It was resorted to only in exceptional cases.
Death was quite such a case: relatives wanted to preserve the memory of the deceased. Moreover, photographers went to a variety of tricks to make it seem as if the photograph was a living person. So pictures appeared, depicting a person who was supposedly asleep or thoughtful, but in fact already dead. There were a lot of such photographs with children, since infant mortality was very high, and during life it is difficult to take a child for a daguerreotype - you need to sit still for too long.
This custom lasted in Great Britain and the United States until late XIX century, and in the USSR met in the first half of the XX century.
The dead were given casual poses Drawn eyes as if they were actually open
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Take pictures of dead children. A normal person would never think of such a thing. Today it is savagery, but 50 years ago it was normal. Mothers kept cards with dead babies as the most precious thing. And now, in these gloomy pictures, we can trace the evolution of a person's attitude to death and to their loved ones.
Children die slower than old people
A strange and, at first glance, a terrible custom - to photograph the dead - originated in Europe, and then came to Russia, in the middle of the 19th century, simultaneously with the advent of photography. The townsfolk began to take pictures of their dead relatives. In fact, it was a new manifestation of the tradition of painting posthumous portraits of loved ones and removing plaster masks from the faces of the dead. However, portraits and masks were expensive, while photography became more and more accessible to all segments of the population.
- I saw one of the early photographs of a deceased child, dating back to the 1840s,- said the St. Petersburg historian of photography Igor Lebedev.
In parallel, another direction of post-mortem photography was developing - criminal photography. Photographers traveled to crime scenes and filmed the dead for the police. Wherein we are talking not only about specific shooting, when they recorded how the body lay or where the bullet hit. The dead were also neatly placed on the bed and filmed. This was the case, for example, with the Parsons family. Father, mother and three young children were killed, and the bodies were thrown into the water. When they were discovered, they gathered everyone together and took the last family photo. However, it shows that all the filmed are already dead.
When they photographed young children who died in families from diseases, they very often made them look like they were alive. They were filmed with their favorite toys and even put on chairs. The kids were dressed in the most elegant dresses and decorated with flowers.
Often parents even tried to smile while holding dead babies in their arms, as if they had just casually entered the photo studio with them during the first walk. Pupils were sometimes added to children in the pictures to simulate open eyes.
There were even photos in which the dead were captured with pets - birds, cats, dogs. What is especially striking is that dead and living sons and daughters were filmed together. For example, there is a shot where twin girls are sitting on the couch - one is dead, the other is alive.
the girl on the left is dead
- There are quite a lot of children's photographs also because infant mortality in those years was very high compared to today,- explains Lebedev, - besides, a dead child looks alive longer, while old people quickly change, the skin sags, the decomposition of the flesh begins.
Books of the dead
Already in the 20-30s of the 20th century, scientists began to study the phenomenon of post-mortem photographs. Then the expression “photography is a small death” appeared. With a click of the camera, the photographer seemed to kill the moment and at the same time make it forever alive. So the dead remained forever alive on the cards, who were filmed in their usual surroundings - reading newspapers, in their favorite chair, with friends and relatives. The brave ones even took pictures of the dead looking in the mirror. A series of such photographs made up the book of the dead. In the days of epidemics, entire family albums were collected in these gloomy books.
- They were collected mainly by women. They became the keepers of not only the hearth, but also the history of the family,- says Igor Lebedev.
Viewing such collections to someone else is, of course, creepy. But for relatives, these were sweet reminders to the heart.
There are several explanations for why these photographs were taken. First of all, it was fashion - people just copied each other's behavior.
In addition, a personal chronicle could be kept from photographs. The photographer was invited to every significant event in a person's life - his birth, holidays, when buying a house or car, at a wedding, at the birth of his children. And the posthumous picture became the logical conclusion in this series.
But the main thing is that in this way people tried to capture the last moment of a loved one. In the XIX-XX centuries. family meant much more than today. Therefore, there were traditions to keep curls, pieces of clothes of the dead.
And in the case of children, it could be their only pictures at all. Parents did not always have time to take them off during their lifetime. And so they had at least something to remember.
- And, by the way, when relatives were asked about such photographs, they always remembered not the death of the deceased, not his torments, not their grief, but how he was during his lifetime. Remembered only the good Lebedev said.
the girl in the middle is dead
Today it is already difficult to understand such a way to perpetuate loved ones - after all, nowadays, when almost everyone has "soap dishes", hundreds of his cards accumulate for a person's life. So there is no need to do postmortem.
The grave has replaced the man
In Europeanized Petersburg, this tradition was more developed than in the periphery. In villages, filming has always been an event comparable in importance to a funeral. Often these two events were combined. The whole village gathered for mourning photography. At the same time, the coffin with the deceased was put in the foreground, and those gathered for the funeral lined up behind it.
- It turned out the opposition of the dead and the living, the deceased always looked at the sky, gathered around - right into the camera,- notes the historian Igor Lebedev.
Almost all funeral homes had photographers. They were masters who just did their job.
- Professionals always have a question: “And who, besides me?” Go on about ethics and refuse to film the dead, or press the button and leave a picture of a loved one to your family,- explains Lebedev.
Perhaps that is why we - not professionals - do not understand how you can shoot the dead. Only Lenin in the mausoleum is an exception.
It is known that the tradition of filming dead children was preserved in our country even in the post-war years. Posthumous photos began to disappear only in the 60s. Then they began to stick pictures on tombstones. And in those years one could see rare posthumous cards on crosses and steles.
- Almost every family in Russia had such pictures, but then they began to destroy them, now you can hardly find them,- Igor Lebedev is sure.
They tore and threw away pictures of the dead because they no longer remembered these people, and family values - such as the memory of the family - were a thing of the past. The external manifestation of intimacy became more significant. That is why a unique phenomenon appeared in the Soviet Union - filming a funeral. If in other countries they were limited to one or two mourning shots, then in our country they filmed the entire procession. And if at another time a person would never have agreed to show his tears, then here it was permissible - so that everyone could see how sad he was by what happened.
- The photographs of the dead have been supplanted by the photographs of the grave. People could take pictures at the cross and at the same time hug it, smile, as if they were standing with the deceased,- the historian Igor Lebedev spoke about the transformation of traditions.
Until now, photographers work in cemeteries during funerals. Although this custom is gradually dying out.
The genre of post-mortem photography was very popular in the 19th century, when the camera was still rare and expensive (so for many, post-mortem photography turned out to be the first and only one). To take a photo, I had to pose for a long time next to the deceased, who, by the way, was most often seated in the frame as if alive. It seems strange, but think about it: a posthumous photograph of a loved one is the only thing that his relatives had left in memory of him.
Of course, first of all, the relatives wanted to leave something for themselves in memory of the deceased. Now we don’t have such a need: we take a lot of pictures and shoot videos. And then people didn’t have such an opportunity, so they saved up so that even after death they could take a photo of their beloved relative as a keepsake and put it in a family album. Most often, inconsolable mothers ordered photographs of dead children.
At that time, one photo took from 30 seconds to 15 minutes, and all this time it was necessary to sit next to the deceased without moving. Probably, it was not easy - for example, in this photo, older brothers are standing in a chair next to a dead baby and a sister is sitting next to a dead baby. Also small children.
Due to the long exposure time, the deceased in the photograph turned out to be more distinct than the living people surrounding him. Because no matter how hard they try not to move, achieving perfect immobility is unrealistic.
12. "Memento mori", or "Remember death"
Remember death, remember that you will die, and remember the dead. Perhaps the posthumous photographs were also a kind of reminder that all people are mortal, death is inevitable and you should not be afraid of it. It sounds crazy to us, but at that time such sentiments were common.
Most often, post-mortem photographs were ordered when a child was dying. Then infant mortality was very high, there were no vaccinations and antibiotics, and children often died in infancy from infectious diseases. Therefore, it was customary to give birth to as many children as possible, because not everyone had a chance to survive. And women often died in childbirth, and post-mortem pictures were also taken for them.
Of course, everyone understood that the person was dead, but in the photograph he should look as alive as possible so that his relatives could remember him like that. The dead were given poses suggesting that they were doing their favorite thing ... well, or, in extreme cases, sleeping. The girl in this photo looks like she fell asleep while reading.
A dead body cannot be seated straight, so someone would stand behind and support it. Or used any supporting mechanisms.
The custom to put the favorite thing of the deceased in the coffin is still there. And then, in the posthumous photographs, next to the children, their favorite toys and dolls are sure to be, and next to the adults, their favorite book or other object that they often used.
Since photography was an expensive affair, often several people who died at the same time were combined in one photograph at once, so as not to spend money on a separate picture for each. This photo shows a mother and her triplets. Unfortunately, both the mother and two of the three children are dead - perhaps due to some kind of epidemic.
Posthumous photographs were not easy to take, they required a certain skill and ability, so they were very expensive. It was necessary to pay the photographer for the work, reagents, development and printing, and most often the family received a single photograph, which they kept as the apple of their eye.
What is an obituary in a newspaper, we know. Usually this short message about the death of a person, indicating the cause of death, without details, and with an expression of condolences. At a time when post-mortem photography flourished, it was customary to print more detailed obituaries in newspapers with post mortem and detailed description death. In addition, then there were no such ways of preserving the dead for a long time as there are now. Then they were buried as quickly as possible, and not everyone had time to come to the funeral. In such cases, a detailed obituary would come in handy.
Sometimes it was not possible to give the dead person the appearance of a living person in the photograph, and then it was finalized by hand, painting his eyes. This gave such photographs an even more terrible look. The photographs were in black and white, and people often painted red and pink on the cheeks of the deceased to bring it to life.
Sometimes the really dead in the photo look just like the living. And you can't tell. In this picture, the young man on the right is apparently dead, as he is standing in a simpler pose and there is clearly something behind him that supports him in an upright position. So if you immediately realized that it was him, you are right. But if you decide that the young man on the left is dead, you are also right. Behind him is also a supporting stand. Yes, there are two dead people in this photo.
Pets are part of the family, and it was the same in those days. So there is nothing surprising in the fact that someone took posthumous photographs of their beloved dog or cat for a family album. This, of course, only rich people could afford.
No matter what form the deceased was in, the photograph was taken under any circumstances. There are many photographs of people who were burned in a fire or died from diseases that disfigured their appearance. The woman in this picture looks like this just because of cadaveric rotting. It is strange that someone wanted a photo of a relative in this form, but people could be in complete despair. And it's better to have some photo than none, right?
When investigating crimes related to murders, suicides, traffic accidents, violations of safety regulations and others, often the main object of research is the corpse. Photographic fixation of the scene of the incident for these categories of criminal cases is of particular importance for the investigation. Photographing such scenes of incidents, in addition to general patterns, also has its own distinctive features, since during the inspection they pay special attention to the study of all the circumstances associated with the discovery of a corpse or its parts, and the establishment of causes of death. When examining the scene of the incident by methods and means of photography, the following is recorded:
Place of discovery of the corpse (parts of the corpse);
Possible or established routes to this place of the deceased, the criminal, ways of leaving it;
The position of the corpse and the placement of objects and traces surrounding it;
The posture of the corpse and the condition of the area where it is located for the period of examination;
The condition of clothing, damage to clothing and the body of the corpse, the position of objects that may indicate the cause of death;
Traces of blood, secretions of the human body, associated with a scab;
Murder weapons or means that may be the cause of death;
Items, things left by the offender or belonging to the victim;
Traces of hands, shoes, body parts or clothing left by the offender, other changes made in the environment.
A general idea of the location of the discovery of the corpse, the boundaries of the inspected area is given by an orienting survey. On the ground, a corpse or parts of it and physical evidence related to a given event are often found at a considerable distance from each other. Orienting shooting in such cases is usually carried out from elevations. Landmarks are included in the frame, allowing you to accurately determine the location of the investigative action. The choice of shooting directions should ensure the visibility of the placement of key elements at the scene of the incident relative to each other (milestones - pointers on orientation and overview images); contribute to the reflection of other circumstances characteristic of this event - possible or established routes to the place of the deceased or the criminal, the remoteness of the place from residential buildings, roads, etc. The place where the corpse and material traces of the crime were found, indistinguishable due to the small scale, hidden by terrain folds, bushes, etc., are marked with signposts when shooting.
When a corpse is found indoors, information about the circumstances of the crime can be located both in the building itself and in the territory adjacent to it. Therefore, orientation and overview photographs reflect the location of the building on the ground; possible ways following him; traces of movement (delivery or removal) of the corpse; the situation in the room; on the nodal - the place and method of penetration of the criminal into the premises, the traces and objects found both in the premises and on the building itself, and in the territory adjacent to it.
General position of the body fix, focusing on the nearest fixed objects (trees, walls, etc.). Shooting directions and their number determine the features of the terrain, the conditions for viewing the place where the corpse was found. The most accurate connection of all elements at the site of the discovery of the corpse is given by cross-shaped shooting at angles close to 45 ° to the axis of the corpse. If the shooting conditions do not allow these recommendations to be met, the position of the corpse is photographed from directions that have greatest review, providing the minimum possible distortion of body proportions. The distance to the object is somewhat greater than the distance required for nodal shooting. High points are preferred. In cases where accurate data on the distance between objects of the situation can be important for the case, methods of measuring photography are used.
Posecorpse fix close-up and, above all, without changing its position. Signs indicating a different position of the corpse at the time of examination should be emphasized during the shooting. For example, a drag trace is displayed from a point that conveys its beginning and final position of the corpse in the picture. If this information cannot be conveyed in one picture, circular or linear panning is used. The corpses, covered with earth, snow, covered with various objects, are photographed in the form in which they were discovered. After extraction and release from foreign objects, their position and condition are recorded. Shooting can be carried out as the corpse is freed from masking elements. The objects used to conceal the corpse are also photographed.
Pose of a lying corpse fixed from three directions: from the side - from opposite sides, perpendicular to its axis and from above. Shooting points are placed against the middle of the corpse at an angle of 45 ° to the floor (ground) surface. Shooting from the side of the head and legs is not recommended, especially from close distances, since the proportions of the body are greatly distorted. When shooting from high points, the optical axis of the lens is directed perpendicular to the plane of the corpse. With a slight tilt of the camera axis, perspective distortion is corrected by transforming the image when printed. In small rooms, the pose of a corpse is transmitted using the linear panning method. The panorama is made up of two frames, choosing the direction of shooting opposite the chest and knees of the corpse.
Sometimes only one point is possible for shooting, for example, when a corpse is found in a closet, drawer, etc. In this case, additional information about the posture of the corpse is provided by the images obtained after extraction, especially if its condition remains unchanged. After removing the corpse, it is obligatory to take a picture of the place where it was located.
Sitting Corpse Pose if possible, fix from 3, 4 sides. For example, a corpse against a wall is photographed from the front and from two sides. The clarification of the circumstances of the event under investigation is facilitated by shooting from the upper point, from which the position of objects near the corpse is displayed.
Hanging Corpse Pose photographed front and back. Shooting directions are chosen at the level of his belt. To enlarge the plan or when shooting from short distances, linear vertical panning is used. The place of attachment of the rope, the position of the noose on the neck of the corpse, the type of knot and its features are especially fixed. After removing the loop, the strangulation groove is photographed, showing its location and features. On a separate picture, the shape and features of tying the knot are fixed. The characteristic features of the posture of the corpse, for example, legs bent and touching the floor, hands tied, distance to the floor or the nearest support, etc., are transmitted on a larger scale from the lateral, upper, lower points.
The corpse's hands, when they are bound, are an independent subject of shooting; they have marks indicating self-defense or possible cause of death; some objects are clamped in them, for example, a piece of fabric, a button, etc. First, their condition is recorded at the time of inspection. Then the hands are straightened and the damage on them is photographed. Hands with objects clamped in them are photographed in such a way that these objects are visible in the pictures. The objects themselves are also photographed after their extraction with a detailed plan.
Parts of a dismembered corpse photographed at the place of their discovery in the form and in the packaging in which they were found. First fix the state of the package, then each of the parts separately. If the parts of the corpse form a single whole, then they are photographed together.
Special attention focus on display when shooting condition of clothing on the corpse and damage (their forms, features, cadaveric spots). The shooting direction and distance are selected taking into account the transmission of these features. With a large number of damages, the position of each of them is marked with a pointer. If the position of the corpse does not allow to display all the characteristic features of clothing and damage, then resort to additional shooting. So, the condition of the clothes and the nature of the injuries on the chest of a lying corpse are photographed after it is turned over.
Damage to the clothes and body of the corpse (firearms, edged weapons) is photographed at a magnification sufficient to display their features. In the presence of knives and other objects remaining in the wounds, their position is fixed relative to the parts of the body where they are located. After removing the item, both the damage itself and the item are photographed.
Objects located on the corpse or next to it are photographed using nodal, and then detailed shooting. If necessary, after fixing objects, traces on the clothes and body of the corpse and next to it, photograph its bed, focusing on objects that may be of value as material evidence and indicate the cause of death.
Great importance is attached to the display of traces of blood in the pictures. By their location, shape, one can judge the place and posture of the victim at the time of injury, the direction of movement after the wound was inflicted, the height from which drops of blood fell, etc. If they are present, the relative position of the spots, size, nature and shape are fixed.
The face of an unidentified corpse is photographed according to the rules of identification photography.
Wounds, abrasions, bruises, cadaveric spots change color over a short time. Additional information about the properties of such objects are obtained using color photographs. At the site of the discovery of a corpse, it is used when it is difficult to describe the color shades of an object, such as clothing; if the color is an identification feature of the object.
In the life of every person there is a number of the most important events, around which there is an aura of mystery. These are pregnancy and childbirth in women, engagements and weddings, illness and death in all people. And precisely because of the importance and relative singularity of each such event, they are overgrown with superstitions and signs.
The history of photographing the dead
The tradition of photographing the dead arose in Europe in the second half of the 19th century, and gradually penetrated into Russia. This was due to the fact that the production of photographs was expensive and complex, and also required a lot of time for the preparatory stage.
Far from everyone could afford a photo as a keepsake, but only wealthy people. Therefore, in the event of the death of any of the family members, the relatives called the photographer to the house, dressed the deceased in best clothes, gave him a pose natural for a living person, sat down next to him - and received a memorable photo.
In the case of poorer families, the photo at the funeral next to the coffin included another "option" - the presence of the largest number of relatives in one photo. The funeral is over, but the memory remains.
Of particular note is the tradition of photographing dead children. There were practically no photographs of children during their lifetime, since the process of preparation, focusing and aiming the lens was very long, and it is difficult to keep a moving small child in one position.
In tragic circumstances, the parents wanted to keep the memory of the child for themselves, and ordered a photo of the already deceased child. I would like to note that looking at these pictures is not very pleasant, and there is a desire to quickly look away.
An eerie impression is created by giving the deceased a “live” appearance, an unnatural position for a dead body, a blush and even open eyes. And when you look at the photos of the dead in the coffin, it seems that you are looking at photos from the medical examiner's report.
Photos of the dead today
The church has always had a negative attitude towards filming the dead. This is due to the device of the camera, in which there are glasses and mirrors.
There are many signs associated with the dead, in which there are mirrors and glasses. These are the mirrors in the house of the deceased, which were curtained for 40 days, and the open windows in the room of the dying, and the prohibition to look at the funeral procession through the glass.
Any superstition gives rise primarily to ignorance, and this case is no exception. Few people understood optics a hundred years ago, so the mirrors in which the image of a person is reflected seemed to be something mysterious.
As for windows and doors, according to the Slavic tradition, they were the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead (hence the ban on passing anything through the threshold). So there was a tradition to hang mirrors in the house where the deceased lies, so that the soul of the deceased would not see his image, and would not get lost in the looking glass, not being able to go to another world.
The ban on looking at a funeral through glass is associated with "disrespect" for the deceased, who is being spied on, instead of joining the procession and helping the soul cross the border with grief and remembrance.
Note that there are no mirrors in churches, as it is believed that reflective surfaces weaken prayer and take away some of the grace for themselves. This is another reason why you should not photograph the deceased.
Of course, relatives decide whether to take a photo of the deceased, but since the main reasons why this was done one hundred and fifty years ago are absent today, there are few reasons “for”.
It is unlikely that you will want to remember such a sad event often, peer into the already changed features of a loved one, or into the faces of relatives distorted by grief. Therefore, more often shoot smiling or serious, but such lively faces of friends and relatives.
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