The dissertation analyses the wet collodion stage in the history of photography, which followed the daguerreotype era. During this phase, photographs could be reproduced in small quantities, though their high cost limited their accessibility to a select group of users. This constraint had implications for photographers’ commercial viability, as well as the potential dissemination, adaptation, and use of photographs, shaping the iconographic spectrum of images. The primary focus of this research centres on all photographs captured using the wet collodion method in Lithuania and their creators, as well as the social factors influencing photographers’ endeavours. This study adopts a perspective of social history, treating photography as an open, multifaceted contextual phenomenon encompassing both technological and social dimensions. The methodology incorporates comparative analysis and iconographic approaches, supported by an empirical and factual framework. Unexplored resources from other countries such as Poland, Belarus, Russia, and France were used in the work. This enabled the identification and publication of unique iconographic materials crucial to the history of photography and ethnography. Additionally, it contributed new written sources and visual documentation to the realm of scholarly knowledge. The three parts of the dissertation delve into the operations of photographic portrait studios during the wet collodion era, the determinants underpinning photography’s evolution within the context of governmental relations (legislative control over photographers, the deployment of photography for propagating imperial ideology in Lithuania, state commissions), and how photography responded to societal needs (photography’s role in regional knowledge, creation of Vilnius photo albums, deployment of photography for documenting economic and technological advancement). The dissertation includes the first comprehensive index of individuals actively engaged in photography during the wet collodion period.