What is photography and its uses?

Photography is a medium that allows people to capture moments in time and preserve them permanently. It can be used for a number of purposes including artistic expression, scientific research, commercial use, and social/political activism. Photographs can help disseminate information about the world around us, record history, and extend human knowledge and understanding. They can also bring people together and tear them apart.

The first permanent image was captured by Joseph Nicephore Niepce in the 1830s and a few years later Louis Daguerre patented his “Daguerreotype” process which was an early type of camera that produced a clear silver-plated copper print. Daguerreotypes were extremely expensive at the time, however, and required a long exposure for a moving subject which limited their usage. Later, John Herschel discovered that the chemical sodium thiosulphate could be used to fix (or make permanent) silver-halide images and developed his own version of the photographic process called the cyanotype which was less expensive and much faster.

Today there are many different types of photography, including concert, landscape, food, and portrait photography. Many photographers specialize in one of these niches and often work as freelancers. Commercial photography is based on the idea of persuading consumers to purchase a product or service by making it look more attractive and desirable than its competitors. This type of photography can be found in a variety of different advertising formats such as billboards, magazines, and social media.