In China, photos before 1949 are generally called "old photos". Among them, the first category is the photos from 1850 to191,that is, the photos from the introduction of photography technology into China in the late Qing Dynasty to the establishment of the Republic of China. The second category is the works of the Republic of China, namely 19 12 to 1949 photos. The development of photography technology in the Republic of China greatly increased the number of photos, so the overall value of the works in the Republic of China was lower than the previous works, which means that the older the photos, the higher the price. In addition to the age, you should also look at the photo size when collecting. Due to the limitation of early photography technology, there are not many large-size photos, and the larger the photo size, the more difficult it is to save, so the bigger the early old photos, the more valuable they are.

Secondly, the old photos of celebrities are very collectible, including the fame of photographers and the fame of subjects. Famous photographers such as Lang Jingshan, Wu Zhonghang, Wu Yinbo and Liu Bannong emerged in the early photography circles in China. They are good at combining western photography technology with China culture, and their value in taking pictures is relatively high.

Thirdly, it is relatively easy for ordinary collectors to record photos of a certain custom and fashion in a period. For example, the photos of women's haircuts in China in the early 1920s, the photos of Beijing Tianqiao artists practicing in the 1940s, and the panoramic photos of the old Shanghai Bund all have high collection value.

Finally, photos of famous scenes in the old days are also worth collecting, because they are important cultural relics, especially buildings or cultural landscapes that no longer exist or have undergone great changes.