Royal Photographers Bassano Ltd.

This London studio ran like a family photo booth that never closed, except they used glass plates and proper lighting instead of a flash. They snapped portraits of dancers and actors before anyone else did, catching their subjects mid-smile or mid-step. Why they’re here: look up Lydia Kyasht’s 1913 shot, she’s mid-pirouette, skirt flared, the whole studio’s light bent into a soft halo behind her.