Photography is the art of capturing light with a camera, usually via a digital sensor or film, to create an image. With the right camera equipment, you can even photograph wavelengths of light invisible to the human eye, including UV, infrared, and radio.

The first permanent photograph was captured in 1826 (some sources say 1827) by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in France. It shows the roof of a building lit by the sun.

A Brief History of Photography and the People Who Made It Succeed

Colour photography started to become popular and accessible with the release of Eastman Kodak’s “Kodachrome” film in the 1930s. Before that, almost all photos were monochromatic – although a handful of photographers, toeing the line between chemists and alchemists, had been using specialized techniques to capture colour images for decades before. You’ll find some fascinating galleries  of photos from the 1800s or early 1900s captured in full colour, worth exploring if you have not seen them already.

These scientist-magicians, the first color photographers, are hardly alone in pushing the boundaries of one of the world’s newest art forms. The history of photography has always been a history of people – artists and inventors who steered the field into the modern era.

Landscape Photography

Landscape photography is the art of capturing pictures of nature and the outdoors in a way that brings your viewer into the scene. From grand landscapes to intimate details, the best photos demonstrate the photographer’s own connection to nature and capture the essence of the world around them. Below, you’ll find all the landscape photography articles we have written over the past decade, including our highly approachable tutorials and techniques. If you want to learn everything there is to know about taking beautiful landscape pictures, this is the place to start.

Portrait Photography

Portrait photography is one of the most popular genres of photography, with good reason. Good portrait photographers are able to capture the personality and emotion of people around them, along with earning money via wedding photography, senior portraits, family photography sessions, and so on. Below, you’ll find everything we’ve written about portrait photography, intended for both beginners and professionals. Also, if you want some ideas beyond our basic portrait photography tips, take a look at our more specialized tutorials on weddings and flash photography. Those articles will help you with posing, camera settings, and lighting portraits. It isn’t always easy to take pictures of people, but it’s worth the effort to learn.

abstract art

Abstract art and abstract photography art are relatively new but well-established styles of modern and contemporary art. Abstraction in photography is a stark departure from documentary-style photography or hyper-realism. Read on to learn more about abstract photography, including its inspiration, origins, and purpose.