Because Everett 's speech was very long , and because it took a long time for 19th century photographers to prepare for taking a picture , it is likely that photographers were not prepared for how short Lincoln 's speech was . Given the length of Everett 's speech and the length of time it took for 19th century photographers to get `` set up '' before taking a picture , it is quite plausible that the photographers were ill prepared for the brevity of Lincoln 's remarks .