World Photography Day 2025 – August 19

World Photography Day, also known as World Photo Day, is annually observed across the globe on August 19 to celebrate the art, craft, science, and history of photography.

• The day is also observed as a tribute to the invention of the daguerreotype, the first practical photographic process, developed by Louis Daguerre in 1837.

Theme: 

2025 Theme: The 2025 theme of World Photography Day is “My Favourite Photo”

Focus: It highlights a shift from technical perfection to emotional resonance and personal significance.

About World Photography Day:

Photography: It is an art of capturing light with a camera to create images with cameras, phones, and drones.

• The word ‘photography’ means ‘drawing with light’ and it was coined by the British scientist Sir John Herschel in 1839.

Background: The invention of Daguerreotype was officially announced by the French Academy of Sciences in 1839. The French government purchased the patent for the invention and declared it a “gift free to the world” on August 19, 2010.

• In 2009, World Photography Day proposed it as an annual celebration to honour this pivotal moment in the history of photography.

Inception: World Photography Day was initially observed on 19th August 2010.

• On this day, nearly 270 photographers shared their photographs in a global online gallery.

Week observance: World Photography Week 2025 is a two-week global celebration of photography from 12th to 26th August 2025.

Evolution:

Permanent: The first permanent photographic image known as “View from the Window at Le Gras” was taken by Joseph Nicephore Niépce using the Heliography process in 1826.

Invention of Daguerreotype: In 1837, Louis Daguerre developed the Daguerreotype process, recognized as the first commercial photographic technique.

Durable: The first durable colour photo was taken in 1861 using a three-colour method invented by Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell.

Digital: The first digital photograph was taken in 1957 by Russell Kirsch.

Still: The first digital still camera was developed by Eastman Kodak engineer Steven Sasson in 1975.