In 1826, a Frenchman named Niepce needed pictures for his business. But he was not a good artist.
So he invented a very simple camera, He put it in a window of his house and took a picture of his garden.
That was the first photo.
The next important date in the history of photography was in 1837. That year, Daguerre, another
Frenchman, Look a picture of his reading-room. He used a new kind of camera in a different way. In his
picture you could see everything very clearly, even the smallest thing. The kind of photo was called a
Daguerreotype.
Soon, other people began to use Daguerre's way. Travelers brought back wonderful photos from all
round the world. People took pictures of famous buildings, cities and mountains.
In about 1840, photography was developed. Then photographers could take pictures of people and
moving things. That was not simple. The photographers had to carry a lot of film and other machines. But
this did not stop them, for example, some in the United States worked so hard.
Mathew Brady was a famous American photographer. He took many pictures of great people. The
pictures were unusual because they were very lifelike.
Photographers also became one kind of art by the end of the 19th century. Some photos were not just
taken of the real world; they showed ideas and feelings, like other kinds of art