Benjamin Joseph Falk

Benjamin Joseph Falk (1853-1925) grew up in New York City. He graduated from the College of the City of New York with a B.S. in 1872, while concurrently serving as a technician under photographer George Rockwood. In 1881 he moved to Broadway, where the business grew rapidly, developing largely in the line of portraits of celebrities."

Falk’s first studio, located on 14th street, became wholly devoted to photography in 1877. His distance from the theater district, however, prompted his 1881 relocation to 947-49 Broadway. The Broadway Studio served for 11 years until high-rises obscured the sunlight needed to maintain a day long shooting schedule, forcing him to relocate to 13-15 East 24th Street. In 1900, Falk relocated to the roof of the Waldorf Astoria. The solarium supplied superb natural light during the day, and his 25x30 operating room became the envy of the photographic fraternity.

Falk committed to electrification:  "In this studio all enlarging work is done with electric lights, both negatives and paper. Our main photographing room contains a 'bank' made up of sever Cooper-Hewitt tubes with eight groups of Mazdas. We find this combination as adequate on dark days as daylight. Though most of our printing is done with daylight, we have found the Cooper-Hewitt invaluable for fast work, particularly in an emergency." 

When asked in 1893 what was most important in creating effective portraits, he replied matter of factly, "I name expression, posing and lighting in the order as they appear to be most important. The technique of the profession being absolutely under the control of the operator since the introduction of the dry plates, there is no excuse now for any but perfect photographic results. I have always made my price high enough, so that I did not have to consider the cost of material while doing my work." 

via Broadway Photographs