Chansonetta Stanley Emmons’s decision to dedicate her creative output to photography was unconventional but not unique for a woman. Because her brothers supported her financially, Chansonetta and Dorothy were free to explore the world through photography and art, without being bound to commissions like commercial photographers.

This snapshot shows Chansonetta in a fashionable outfit and hat framing up a photo of the Felder family, African American tenant farmers on the Hermitage plantation in South Carolina. A family friend recalled that Chansonetta’s work outfits looked like she was heading into Boston to shop, rather than preparing for a demanding day of photography.

Chansonetta purchased a heavy, Century brand camera in 1904, and used it her entire career. Shutter speeds took between 1/25 of a second up to 3 seconds to imprint on the 5 x 7 inch glass plate negatives. To get a clear image, photographers counted off the time aloud for subjects to stay still.

Scholars suspect Dorothy Emmons took this image of her mother during their photography excursion to the Charleston area.