The Beato brothers were part of a group of early photographers who made their way to the East to capitalise on this demand.
These pioneering photographers included Frenchmen, Félix Bonfils (1831–1885); Gustave Le Gray (1820–1884) and Hippolyte Arnoux, brothers Henri and Emile Bechard and the Greek Zangaki brothers, many of whom were in Egypt at the same time and entered into both formal and informal working partnerships.
In 1855, one of the brothers, Felice, teamed up with the pair's brother-in-law, James Robertson and travelled to the Crimea where they assumed responsibility for war photography.
[5] The Beato brothers' images of Egypt were distinctly different to those of other pioneering photographers working in the Middle East and Asia.
Whereas most photographers focussed on the grandeur of monuments and architecture, the Beatos concentrated on scenes of everyday life.