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Henry Goodes was a professional photographer based in New South Wales and Queensland. He established a portrait studio in South Brisbane, Queensland, in 1856. By 1861 he was working in partnership with Olaf William Blackwood in Sydney and took over the business in 1863. From 1865 he worked as an itinerant photographer throughout rural New South Wales, advertising his services in Mudgee and Wagga Wagga.

A carte de visite is a stiff card of about 10 x 6.4 cm, with an attached paper photograph, invented in 1854 by André-Adolphe-Eugène Disderi. They were introduced into Australia in 1859 by William Blackwood with albums arriving in 1860, aiding the collection and distribution of multiple cartes. Cartes were usually portraits and were made by the millions worldwide. Multi-lens, or ‘multiplying’ cameras were introduced in the 1860s, which were capable of producing from 2 to 32 images in quick succession, dramatically increasing the number of cartes de visite that could be made from a single photographic plate. They were easily reproduced by making paper contact prints from the glass plates, which were then cut and pasted to card.