ABSTRACT
May and Mina Moore were commercial photographers who in the early twentieth century developed their own unique style of photography to cater to the publicity needs of Australia’s high profile literary, artistic, theatrical and early screen figures. The sisters were working at a time of momentous improvements to cameras and printing methods. Not only were photographs circulating more widely, but new easy-to-use Kodak cameras were beginning to flood the market. The chapter argues that the sisters remained competitive by offering their client’s stylish-looking prints and images that used highly sophisticated camera angles and techniques, and that it was above all their combining of glamorous lighting effects, ability to capture people’s personalities and a strong business acumen that accounts for their longevity in the trade. It further argues that they applied these same techniques, irrespective of their sitters’ race and class status, as demonstrated by their photographs of the Australian soldiers and indigenous peoples who passed through their studios. Finally, the chapter presents the case for seeing the seminal role that their celebrity photography played in the development of the fashion photography that emerged in the 1920s and 30s.
