Before the invention of photography, magic lantern slides were made from drawings or paintings that were mounted in a device, backlit by candles and mirrors, and projected on a screen or wall with a lens. Audiences were fascinated by the projections, which were often animated and accompanied by music. The magic lanterns were also used for scientific purposes.

Photography was a natural fit for the magic lantern technology. Lantern slides were made first with albumen (ca. 1850), then collodion (ca. 1850–1860), and finally gelatin (ca. 1870) on glass plates. Their standard size is typically 4 by 3.25 inches. Two methods or techniques were possible: using a plate that would produce a direct positive, or using a negative as an intermediate step to create a positive.

In the first method, a plate capable of producing a direct-positive image would be placed in a camera and, when exposed and processed, produced a single unique image. When using a negative to make a positive, two options were available. The first was to use a camera loaded with a negative to photograph another negative lit from behind. When developed, the negative of the negative would be a positive. The second way was to place a processed negative directly against an unprocessed one (contact printing) and expose both to light, creating a positive. Collodion and gelatin positives differed from their negative counterparts (see ambrotype) in length of exposure time and processing chemistry.