The question ‘what is photography art meaning?’ is a common one that people ask about photography and the way it can be transformed into a work of art through editing software and other methods. Photography as an art form emerged in the 19th century along with a general movement towards realism in art. It has since influenced other art forms, including painting, which has borrowed distinct elements from photos to create new artistic styles.
The origins of photography are quite complex. The first image to be considered as art was recorded in 1826 by Joseph Nicephore Niepce. The process was quite primitive, however. He used a camera obscura, which is a darkened room with a small hole in the wall through which light passes and creates an image on a screen.
It took many more years before photography became widely available. Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre developed the first commercially successful photographic process in 1839. The daguerreotype used a metal plate to capture an image. This was followed by Fox Talbot’s calotype process, which used light-sensitive paper to create an image.
Photography was quickly adopted by scientists for research purposes and also became popular among artists for its ability to record detailed images of natural or man-made objects. The invention of the enlarger in 1861 allowed photographs to be printed and displayed.
While some of the most famous works of photography are considered as art, there is a fine line between what is and isn’t. For example, a headshot taken for a business website wouldn’t be considered as art, but an image created to be seen as art would be.