Does anyone have any theoretical or methodological suggestions as to
analyzing or interpreting photographs ?

There's no easy answer.  As a photography archivist and eventually exhibit
developer at the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, I occasionally spoke
to local historical societies about the dangers inherent in "interpreting"
photographs.  Unless you know the photographer's orientation (was he or she
capturing history, creating art, or just trying to make a living?) and
unless you know something about the subjects (were they struggling farmers
dressed in their very best clothes or were they bankers dressing down?  Was
this the only photograph ever made of the Sperath family or did they have a
portrait made every year?), then you run the risk of misinterpreting a
photograph.  My suggestion is that you research the photographers as
thoroughly as you can and also research a reasonable number of the portrait
sitters.  Find them in the Federal and state census.  Find out what
businesses they were in, where they lived, what churches they attended, how
many children they had.  Locate their descendents and ask the descendents to
share the family's history.    From information on specific individuals you
can then begin to make generalizations about family life in Kansas.

For a dry, but fairly reliable history of portrait photography see
"Photography and the American scene : a social history, 1839-1889" by Robert
Taft,  originally published in 1938.

For an excellent overview of photography in family life, see George Talbot's
exhibit catalog, "At Home, Domestic Life in the Post-Centennial Era,
1876-1920" published in 1977 by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
(It may only be available through interlibrary loan from the State
Historical Society.)

To see how one 19th century photographer in Nebraska combined art, history,
and family life, take a look at "Solomon D. Butcher : Photographing the
American Dream" by John Carter.

Good luck!
David Mandel
Chief of Exhibits
New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science
1801 Mountain Road, NW
Albuquerque, NM  87104
505-841-2832

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