Hi Braeden. It looks like the LOC is operating much like many archives do and that is that if you want a copy of material that isn’t yet in digital form you’ll need to pay for that to be done. A collection specialist will need to find the record (photograph in your case), scan/photograph/photocopy the item, and then provide you with the type of copy that you requested. Usually, once that’s done for the first time, it will then be available online. But seeing as how nobody has requested copies yet and you’re the first one, you have to pay them to digitize and handle the artifact. And it’s not cheap.
To find out more about the steps and costs involved, click on one of those images you linked in your post. On the tab that says “obtain copies” go there and read the information. Near the bottom of that page where it says “no digital image displaying” click on the link for “duplication services”. That will take you to the duplication services home page. On the left will be a menu bar where you can get more information on formats available, costs involved, as well as the order form should you choose to order.
It’s really not that bad once you’ve seen how it works, it’s just a bunch of steps. I ran through the whole procedure without having to sign in or purchase anything, so you can take a couple dry runs to suss it out if you want. What you do need to know though is what type of copy you want (resolution, format, etc) and the Call Number that’s assigned to the particular image you want a copy of. That’s the important bit — it identifies the record and is unique to each item — so make sure you copy it down correctly.
What happens if you don’t know if you want a copy of an image or not? You can go in person to view it, or you can hire a researcher to go in your stead and tell you what you want to know. Yup, gotta pay for that too.
Anyhow, that’s it in a nutshell. Good luck.
