Photography: fun facts and quiz

The oldest surviving camera photograph, a view from a window, was made by Nicéphore Niépce in France around 1826–27. The exposure took hours, perhaps days.

Key fact
Photography means “drawing with light” in Greek.

A camera lets light through a lens onto film or a sensor. The aperture controls how much light gets in, and the shutter controls for how long.

Key fact
A tiny pinhole alone can form an image: the camera obscura.

In 1888, Kodak sold a simple camera with the slogan “You press the button, we do the rest”. In 1900, its Brownie camera cost just 1 dollar.

Key fact
The Brownie made photography affordable for millions.

Some photos changed how we see the world. Earthrise, taken from Apollo 8 in 1968, showed our planet small and alone in space.

Key fact
It’s often credited with inspiring the environmental movement.

Colour photos became common in the mid-1900s. A Kodak engineer built the first digital camera in 1975: it weighed nearly 4 kg and recorded 0.01 megapixels.

Key fact
Each photo took 23 seconds to save onto cassette tape.

Photographers often use the rule of thirds: imagine a 3 × 3 grid and place key things along its lines or crossings, rather than dead centre.

Key fact
Phone cameras can show the grid on screen.

Smartphones made cameras universal. Well over a trillion photos are now taken every year.

Key fact
Most photos today are taken on phones.