Greetings Rasta Queen,

From what I overstand...

The daguerreotype was invented in the early 19th century and popularized by mid-century, once the trans-Atlantic slave trade was centuries old and in its final decades.

Most if not all photographs you see from this era were highly staged, and were often taken in studios using scenic backdrops--

In the 19th century with increasing pressure to abolish slavery, photography provided a way to 'picture' and thus prove racial difference and perceived Euro superiority. See for example daguerreotype series of slaves commissioned mid-century by Louis Agassiz.

Europe sought to redefine the presence of (and themselves in relation to) Native Americans/ First Nations and Africans and update the *New World* script, and staged, controlled images helped to visually define and contain the presence of First Nations and African people.

It is definitely important to question absences and presences in photographs and visual narratives (like the one passed down to us of slavery), but I can't grasp how you make the leap to denying centuries of trans-Atlantic slave trading. See also 19th c. African American photographer James Presley Ball.

No one people own history, Sis, they are InI stories as well (see link below). And Black people have a very long-standing relationship with photography on both sides of the camera.

If you google daguerreotype+ slavery or daguerreotype+ slave auction you may find a few examples closer to what you're looking for.