Do you know when the first photograph was taken in photography history? In this article, I am going to present the very first shots of photography.
A massive breakthrough in humanity’s striving to capture reality was photography, which, unlike rock paintings and paintings, was able to convey the “picture” as truthfully as possible.
The art of photography has been going on for two centuries. It has rapidly evolved, and it is now impossible to count the number of photos taken by professional cameras, amateur cameras, and smartphones. But some shots will remain in history forever.
In 1861, James Maxwell was able to reproduce color photographs. The invention of the digital camera in 1981 by Sony made it possible to take digital pictures and abandon traditional photographic film. Since then, history has preserved many photographs, for the first time capturing various events and characters: from the surface of the moon to the first erotica.
1. The Very First Photograph of History
The first fixed image was taken in 1822 by the Frenchman Joseph Niepce, but it has not survived. Therefore, the first photograph in history is considered the picture “View from the Window,” obtained by Niepce in 1826 with the help of a camera obscura on a tin plate covered with a thin layer of asphalt.
2. The First Photo of a Person
Louis Dagger took the first photograph of a person in 1838. The photo is called “Boulevard du Temple.” View from the window to a busy street. Because the exposure was 10 minutes, all the roads blurred and disappeared, except for one person who stood still and became visible in the lower left of the frame.
3. First Photomontage
In 1858, 32 years after the first photograph, Henry Robinson made the first photomontage. Fading Away is a combination of five negatives. The picture shows a girl who died of tuberculosis and her family gathered around.
4. First Selfie
The idea for the first selfie belongs to Robert Cornelius. The photo was taken in 1839. From 1839 to 1843, Cornelius was one of the first in the United States to open two private photo studios. Still, by 1843 – probably because the popularity of photography was growing and the number of photo studios was rapidly increasing – he lost interest in photography.
5. First Female Portrait
The first woman in photographs appeared in 1839. It was Dorothy Catherine Draper, who was photographed by her brother and famous American photographer John Draper.
6. First Wedding Photograph of History
One of the first wedding photographs captured Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Prince Albert. Victoria was on the throne for 63 years, seven months, and two days and is the second-longest reign after Elizabeth II.
7. First Photograph in Newspaper
The very first news photo dates back to 1847. It shows the arrest of a man in France. History has not preserved the name of the photojournalist.
8. The First Erotic Photograph of History
The first erotic photo dates back to 1850. Its photographer is French Felix Jacquet Moulin.
You may also like to read: The Invention of Photography: The Key Facts, Figures and Important Dates
9. First Color Photograph of History
Physicist James Clerk Maxwell took the first color photograph in 1861. Maxwell’s work on color theory laid the foundations for methods for accurately quantifying colors resulting from mixing.
10. First 3D Photograph of History
The first 3D photography appeared in the 1920s when the cigarette company Cavenders was looking to boost sales. To make the packaging more attractive, photographer Durden Holmes was brought in and asked to come up with something eye-catching.
The photographer came up with an unusual idea: to print two pictures next to each other on packs of cigarettes, one for the left eye, the other for the right. At the same time, the image in one picture was slightly shifted to the side, and when looking at the pictures, a feeling of the depth of the photo, the 3D effect, was created.
11. The First Moon Photograph of History
John William Draper first photographed the moon on March 26, 1840. He became famous for his publications “The History of the Mental Development of Europe” and “The History of the Relationship between Catholicism and Science.”
You may also like to read: History of Photography: How was Photography Invented?
12. The First Color Photograph of the Earth
One of the most famous photographs of Earth from space was taken by the crew of Apollo 17, the spacecraft on December 7, 1972, the 11th and last human-crewed flight of the Apollo program. It is the first color photo of our planet.
