This means the photograph is not a genuine group portrait. Instead, it is a carefully constructed visual illusion. The same woman was photographed multiple times in different positions, and the separate images were then combined to create the appearance of a group.
Creating an effect like this was far more difficult before modern digital editing software. Photographers had to rely on careful composition, precise positioning, repeated exposures, and considerable patience. The result demonstrates just how creative early photographic techniques could be.
