I wonder how his audiences back then perceived this issue. The indoor pictures he made by just entering and firing a pistol with magnesium (later a frying pan).

I wonder how his audiences back then perceived this issue. The indoor pictures he made by just entering and firing a pistol with magnesium (later a frying pan). The outdoor ones he had to stage to some extent because of the long exposure times. Of course he took advantage of this, and the immigrants also wanted to pose for the camera. For anyone back then knowing anything about photography (which in his audience might have been quite a few) it should have been obvious that e.g. the photo of three boys stealing from a drunk man was staged, you could not make snapshots of quick actions.