How easy can you date a '90s photo? For me it seems all my photos about 1995 and earlier really show their age most of the time, the 1996 and later ones don't give it away as much but generally you can still tell for 1996-1997 photos, 1998-1999 photos still look pretty modern but I suppose some people could date them.

How easy can you date a '90s photo? For me it seems all my photos about 1995 and earlier really show their age most of the time, the 1996 and later ones don't give it away as much but generally you can still tell for 1996-1997 photos, 1998-1999 photos still look pretty modern but I suppose some people could date them.



Ya know I was thinking about the same thing the other day when I was looking at a picture from '93. I'd say that any pictures taken before 1995 show age to me, and any before 1993 look pretty old.

Ya know I was thinking about the same thing the other day when I was looking at a picture from '93. I'd say that any pictures taken before 1995 show age to me, and any before 1993 look pretty old.


Yeah there's a definitely divide between pictures taken lets say in the first half of the '90s compared to the 2nd half.

Yeah there's a definitely divide between pictures taken lets say in the first half of the '90s compared to the 2nd half.



Yeah, defidently. Pictures from the '80s are starting to look really old to me too.

Yeah, defidently. Pictures from the '80s are starting to look really old to me too.


Oh yeah '80s pictures show their age really easily.

Yeah...pictures from like 1992 show their age. I was looking at some baby/toddler photos of myself from the early '90s today, and they look pretty old.

I can tell any photograph from before about 1999: the 90s are looking to me now how the 80s looked in the 90s (doesn't this also occur to you?). I'm actually quite shocked at the similarities between the 80s and 90s the more I look. A dead ringer for pre-95 photos are the daggy fashion, old cars, and slightly 'baroque' look of the streetscapes (like a gritty, late 70s sort of look). 90s movies are also looking increasingly dated - like I can remember when 'Billy Madison' just came out, but now it looks like some artifact from the past! lol

I can tell any photograph from before about 1999: the 90s are looking to me now how the 80s looked in the 90s (doesn't this also occur to you?). I'm actually quite shocked at the similarities between the 80s and 90s the more I look. A dead ringer for pre-95 photos are the daggy fashion, old cars, and slightly 'baroque' look of the streetscapes (like a gritty, late 70s sort of look). 90s movies are also looking increasingly dated - like I can remember when 'Billy Madison' just came out, but now it looks like some artifact from the past! lol


I was at a rummage sale yesterday, and looking at these old board games from the mid-'90s. The photos of the kids on the cover look so old...just the picture quality, how "dull" everything looks, the clothing styles of the kids.

I was at a rummage sale yesterday, and looking at these old board games from the mid-'90s. The photos of the kids on the cover look so old...just the picture quality, how "dull" everything looks, the clothing styles of the kids.


Yes, the peculiar 'dullness' is a feature of old photos - largely cos they were taken with old style, conventional cameras.

The first picture of me was taken around 1994 or 1995 and the second picture of me was taken in 2005. See the huge difference?
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i22/Roadgeek/CarolinaCircleMallEasterBunnyThree.jpg
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i22/Roadgeek/Billy202005.jpg

No...you were a geek then, and you're a geek now!  ;D

JK  ;)

I can tell any photograph from before about 1999: the 90s are looking to me now how the 80s looked in the 90s (doesn't this also occur to you?). I'm actually quite shocked at the similarities between the 80s and 90s the more I look. A dead ringer for pre-95 photos are the daggy fashion, old cars, and slightly 'baroque' look of the streetscapes (like a gritty, late 70s sort of look). 90s movies are also looking increasingly dated - like I can remember when 'Billy Madison' just came out, but now it looks like some artifact from the past! lol
Men In Black(1997), Don't Look Dated.  ::)

Haha..what a coincidence...i was thinking that earlier!

I think some pictures from about 1994+ can look semi current, depending on where it was taken (almost nobody still had frizzy or teased hair by that point, most signage and logos were slightly updated, and the rounded cars were starting to make their presence visible among the box-styled '80s models). However it's the quality which dates them. Anything prior to 1997 probably can give away its age pretty easily most of the time.

Here's a couple outside shots of mine from '94:

a. My townhouse complex at the time, which was pretty new then:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/old_biff/RiverOaks94.jpg

b. Parking lot of a shopping center/supermarket:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y203/old_biff/FoodSource94.jpg

Both of those look a bit "older" now for sure, but you can tell they're '90s because of the quality. I wonder how they would look if we time travelled back there and used modern tech?

I can usually tell what year a picture was from (give or take a few years). And yes, when I look at pictures from high school (1991-1995), I can totally tell the difference from pictures of today.