The word photography comes from the Greek words photos ("light") and graphein ("to draw") and was first used in the 1830s. But the idea of recording images with light goes back much further. Around 1717, a German scientist named Johann Heinrich Schulze discovered that some substances change color when exposed to light. He used this phenomenon to create the first photograms, or shadow images, by placing objects on a light-sensitive mixture.

However, it took another century before someone could make a permanent photograph with a camera. That someone was Nicéphore Niépce, a French inventor who experimented with various materials and methods. In 1826, he succeeded in making the first permanent photograph, called View from the Window at Le Gras. It was a blurry image of his courtyard that took eight hours of exposure in a camera obscura, a darkened box with a small hole that projected an inverted image onto a surface.

Niépce's partner, Louis Daguerre, improved on his technique and developed the daguerreotype, the first publicly available and commercially viable photographic process. The daguerreotype was a metal plate coated with silver iodide that was exposed to light for a few minutes and then developed with mercury vapor. The result was a sharp and detailed image that could not be reproduced. The daguerreotype was announced in 1839 and caused a sensation around the world.

Around the same time, another pioneer of photography emerged in England. William Henry Fox Talbot invented the calotype process, the first paper-based negative and positive process. The calotype was a paper sheet coated with silver chloride that was exposed to light for several minutes and then developed with gallic acid. The result was a negative image that could be used to make multiple positive prints by contact printing. The calotype was demonstrated in 1839 and offered more flexibility and creativity than the daguerreotype.

In the 20th century, photography improved with the innovations of new technologies and techniques that made photography faster, easier, cheaper, colorful, portable, instant, digital, and social. The first mass-produced camera that used roll film was the Kodak camera, launched by an American entrepreneur in 1888. The first commercially available color photography process was the Autochrome process, invented by two French brothers in 1907, using glass plates and potato starch. The first 35mm camera that used film for motion pictures was the Leica camera, introduced by a German company in 1925. The first camera that produced instant prints was the Polaroid camera, invented by an American scientist in 1948. The first digital camera that used a charge-coupled device was created by an engineer at Kodak in 1975. The first software program that revolutionized digital image editing was Adobe Photoshop, released in 1990. The first professional digital camera system that used a modified Nikon body was launched by Kodak in 1991. The first camera phone that combined a mobile phone and a digital camera was introduced by Sharp in 2000.

Photography also evolved as an art form, with various styles and movements emerging over time. Photographers used their cameras to capture and express their visions of the world and themselves. They experimented with different genres, such as portrait, landscape, street, documentary, photojournalism, fashion, and abstract photography. They also explored different forms of art, such as collage, photomontage, and surrealism.