01/24/2025
The History of
The history of photography began with two key discoveries: the projection of images through a camera obscura and the realization that certain substances change when exposed to light.
Before the 18th century, no records exist of attempts to capture images using light-sensitive materials.
The earliest surviving photograph, View from the Window at Le Gras (1826 or 1827), was created by Nicéphore Niépce, requiring exposure times of hours or even days.
Earlier, Johann Heinrich Schulze (1717) demonstrated the light sensitivity of certain materials but did not make the images permanent. In 1800, Thomas Wedgwood produced photograms but was unable to fix them.
In 1839, Louis Daguerre introduced the daguerreotype, a commercially viable photographic process requiring only minutes of exposure and delivering clear, detailed images.
Publicly revealed in Paris, this innovation overshadowed William Henry Fox Talbot's calotype process, which used paper negatives and salt prints. Over time, advancements like the collodion process in the 1850s improved image quality and accessibility.
By the 20th century, roll films enabled amateur photography, and natural color photography became commonplace. The 1990s saw the rise of digital cameras, revolutionizing photography with convenience and improved quality.
By the 21st century, film photography had largely been replaced by digital methods, with smartphone cameras making photography a ubiquitous, everyday activity worldwide.
