In 1903, Eastman Kodak Company released a new camera to capitalize on the current global interest in postcards: the No. 3A Folding Pocket Kodak. This small camera was portable and designed specifically for postcard sized film, allowing the real photographic images to be printed directly onto a blank card, making it possible, and affordable, for anyone to create their own, mailable postcards, either for personal use or as a business. As such, the subjects of real photo postcards were widely varied, including slices of everyday life, such as local shops and humorous antics, but the majority served as formal family portraits to distribute to friends and relatives.

In the early 20th century, there was also an increased emphasis on capturing photographs that portrayed Black subjects respectfully and affirmingly. Within the African American community, posing for a photograph was a way to push back against the overly “sympathetic” images captured by earlier white photographers and counteract racist caricatures. The affordability of Kodak’s postcard camera increased the ability for African American families and individuals to commission and share personal and family images on their own terms.