in 1826/7, Nièpce succeeded in making the earliest surviving camera photograph. It represented a view from a window at Le Gras (his hometown in Burgundy, France), captured on a pewter plate coated in bitumen diluted in lavender oil. The exposure time was probably several days.

Photography was invented by Frenchman Nicéphore Niépce in 1822. Niépce developed a technique called heliography, which he used to create the world’s oldest surviving photograph, View from the Window at Le Gras (1827). Heliography was conceived in response to camera obscura theories dating back to ancient history.

What is photography and its origin?

The word “photography” literally means “drawing with light”.

When did photography first begin?

Photography was invented in 1822 when the first photograph was taken by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (pronounced “nyeps”). Unfortunately, the first examples of Niépce’s work have been lost to history, but he still holds the title for the oldest surviving photograph, taken in 1826.

This is the first photo ever taken.