How to date a photo from the 1960s: square Instamatic prints, miniskirts and the back of Kodak paper

Short answer: A photo from 1960 to 1969 is often a colour print, and many are small and square from an Instamatic camera (1963). Kodak paper from late 1961 to 1972 says A Kodak Paper on the back. Early in the decade clothes are neat and hair is set high; from the mid-1960s skirts get short and men's hair longer.

Last updated: 2 November 2026. Every year on this page was checked against the museums, archives and photo-history sources listed at the bottom.

In the 1960s colour became the norm in family photos. That helps with dating, because the paper, the print size and the way colours have aged all changed during the decade. And fashion moved fast: a photo from 1961 and one from 1969 rarely look alike.

Formats and prints

• Square Instamatic prints. The Kodak Instamatic of 1963 used 126 cartridge film with a 28 by 28 mm frame, so it made small square prints. Many 1960s and 1970s albums are full of them.
• The back of the paper. From November 1961 Kodak colour paper carried the words A Kodak Paper on the back, until 1972. From 1968 that paper had a plastic (resin-coated) base, with matte and finely textured silk surfaces next to the glossy one.
• Colour that lasted. Kodak improved the cyan dye in 1959, so prints from the 1960s are generally more stable than those from the 1950s. Prints kept in the dark for decades still drift towards red as the cyan fades.
• Slides and instant photos. Kodak's Carousel projector of 1961 made slide shows easier; Polaroid's colour peel-apart film came in 1963. See Slides: Kodachrome and Ektachrome and Polaroid and instant photos.

Clothes and hair

The early 1960s still look like the late 1950s: neat suits, fitted dresses, and women's hair set high and full. From the middle of the decade the miniskirt, simple shift dresses, bold patterns and flat shoes appear, first among young people in cities. By the late 1960s men's hair is longer, sideburns grow, and trousers start to flare.

As always, look at the youngest adults in the picture. Older relatives often kept the clothes and hairstyles of earlier years.

In the background

Small cars, new kitchens with fitted units, television sets in the living room and package holidays to the sea are typical. A known car model, building or event gives you an earliest year.

Quick checklist

• Colour or black and white? Square (Instamatic, 1963 or later)?
• Back: A Kodak Paper (November 1961 to 1972)?
• Surface: glossy, matte or finely textured silk (silk from 1968)?
• Skirts: below the knee (early) or short (mid and late 1960s)?
• Men's hair: short and neat, or longer with sideburns (late 1960s)?

Try the free photo date tool

Not sure yet? The free photo date tool asks what you can see (the material, the colour, the edge, the back, a printed year) and turns your answers into a period, with the source behind each year. It needs no account and uploads nothing. For digital photos and scans, read when was this photo taken.

Once you know the year

Write the year in soft pencil on the back, and put it at the start of the file name when you scan it. Then hang it with its date in your palace: in The Memory Palace each photo gets its year, the people in it and the story that goes with it, in a room the family can walk through together. You can start your palace for free.

Date a photo from another decade

Previous decade: The 1950s (1950 to 1959). Next decade: The 1970s (1970 to 1979).

Start from the overview: when was this photo taken, or the seven general clues in how to tell when an old photo was taken. All guides on old photos:

• The 1900s (1900 to 1909)
• The 1910s (1910 to 1919)
• The 1920s (1920 to 1929)
• The 1930s (1930 to 1939)
• The 1940s (1940 to 1949)
• The 1950s (1950 to 1959)
• The 1970s (1970 to 1979)
• The 1980s (1980 to 1989)
• The 1990s (1990 to 1999)
• Cabinet cards and cartes de visite
• Polaroid and instant photos
• Slides: Kodachrome and Ektachrome
• Colour prints and negatives

Sources

• Gawain Weaver and Zach Long, Chromogenic Characterization: A Study of Kodak Color Prints, 1942-2008, Topics in Photographic Preservation 13 (2009), American Institute for Conservation: resources.culturalheritage.org/pmgtopics/2009-volume-thirteen/13_13_Weaver.html
• Science Museum Group, Kodak Instamatic 300 camera (126 cartridge, 28 x 28 mm): collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8205390/instamatic-300-camera
• Kodak, Photography history (roll film 1889, Brownie 1900, Kodachrome 1935 and for 35 mm slides 1936, Kodacolor 1942, Carousel projector 1961, DC40 digital camera 1995): kodak.com/en/company/page/photography-history
• National Library of Australia, Finding and dating photographs (formats, clothing and grooming by decade): library.gov.au/learn/adults/lifelong-learning/finding-and-dating-photographs