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.
Exam Hints:
- What? World Photography Day 2025
- Date: August 19
- 2025 Theme: “My Favourite Photo”
- World Photography Week 2025: August 12th to 26th, 2025.
- First Digital Photo: By Russell Kirsch in 1957
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.
