24 Flashy Photography Facts

By James Israelsen, Associate Writer

Published April 6, 2023

The idea of the pinhole camera, which uses a tiny hole to reflect an image, was first described by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who used one to observe a partial solar eclipse sometime in the 330s BCE._[6]
The oldest surviving photograph was taken by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in the 1820s and shows the view from his window in Le Gras, France._[6]
Leonardo da Vinci's is the earliest known description of the camera obscura, a large dark room in which an artist traced the reversed images reflected through a tiny hole in the wall._[6]
Charles Meade, one of the world's first photographers, died of a long illness that many believe was caused by his repeated exposure to dangerous chemicals used in the early photographic process._[6]
The physiognotrace was an 18th-century picture-making machine with which a person could sketch an image using a stylus that was connected to a tool that engraved the image onto a copper plate._[6]
With over 4,425 cameras in his collection, the Guiness Record holder for the most cameras owned is Dilish Parekh, who surpassed his own 2003 record to be awarded a second time._[7]
One of the most important factors in photography is aperture, the size of the opening of the lens, because it determines how much light passes through to the camera sensor._[8]
Exposure, the degree of how bright a photo ends up being, is determined by how much light is allowed to pass through the lens._[8]

His invention changed how we look at the world

After he invented an early version of the camera, Louis Daguerre wrote, "I have seized the fleeting light and imprisoned it! I have forced the sun to paint pictures for me!"_[6]
In 1760, novelist Norman Tiphaigne de la Roche made the first prediction that advances in chemistry and optics were going to result in the invention of devices that could record permanent images._[6]
Nineteenth-century scientist Thomas Wedgewood set himself the goal of discovering a chemical process using silver nitrate and light to fix images onto paper. Although he failed to find one, his work formed the foundation for the invention of early photography._[6]
The world's first photographer was Joseph Niépce, who in 1816 successfully used cameras and silver chloride-treated paper to create photographic negatives._[6]
In order to prevent Louis Daguerre, the inventor of photography, from restricting its use by patenting his methods, the government of France awarded him a lifelong pension._[6]
In 2011, two different cellphone manufacturers attempted to sell camera phones that could take 3D photographs, but they were both flops._[5]
After watching his then-wife Marilyn Monroe pose for her most famous photograph, in which she stands over a subway grate that causes her dress to be blown up, Joe DiMaggio is reported to have gone into a jealous rage; the couple's marriage lasted only weeks after the event._[1]

The ultimate celebrity photo

American Civil War photographer Alex Gardner staged his famous photograph The Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter by dragging the soldier's corpse to a location he liked and placing his own rifle next to the body._[3]
Samsung released the first cellphone with a built-in camera in South Korea in 2000._[5]
The very first camera phones were basically just two separate devices—a camera and a cellphone—placed in the same external container._[5]
In 2013, the Chicago Sun-Times let go of all 28 of their full-time photographers and trained their reporters to take their own photos using iPhones instead._[4]
Due to access to inexpensive cameras and smartphones in the modern world, daily pay for documentary photographers experienced almost no increase for the decade after 2010._[3]

Some photographs will live forever

One of the world's most frequently reproduced images is a photo taken during WWII by photographer Joe Rosenthal, showing U.S. troops raising a flag on Iwo Jima._[1]
During the Victorian Era, it was common practice to have a photograph taken of the body of a recently deceased family member, often surrounded by other members of the family._[2]
NASA's public affairs department surprisingly forgot to give the first astronauts to walk on the moon instructions about taking photographs, which is why there is only one photo of Neil Armstrong taking his historic spacewalk._[10]
With over 55,000,000 likes as of February 2022, Instagram's most popular image is a photo of a brown egg._[9]