Every August 19, the world celebrates World Photographer’s Day, a moment to honor the art, science, and history of capturing life in frames. While we often take photos for granted today, the story of photography is filled with quirky inventions and surprising milestones. Here are five fascinating facts that might just change the way you look at every click of the camera.

1. The First Photograph Took 8 Hours to Capture

In 1826 or 1827, French inventor Joseph Nicéphore Niépce created the earliest known permanent photograph, called View from the Window at Le Gras. Using a pewter plate coated with bitumen, the image required about eight hours of sunlight exposure to appear. Today, cameras capture in milliseconds, a reminder of how far the technology has come.

2. Early Photographs Were Called “Daguerreotypes”

After Niépce’s work, Louis Daguerre developed the daguerreotype in 1839, the first commercially successful photographic process. Portraits were suddenly accessible beyond the wealthy elite who could afford paintings, making photography a democratizing art form for the middle class.

3. The Eiffel Tower is the World’s Most Photographed Landmark

Studies by Google and social media trend reports show that the Eiffel Tower consistently ranks as the most photographed landmark worldwide, beating out New York’s Times Square and London’s Big Ben. Millions of tourists snap it each year, making it not just a Paris icon but a global photography symbol.

4. Photography Changed How We See War

During the American Civil War (1861–1865), photographer Mathew Brady and his team captured stark battlefield scenes. For the first time, the public could see the human cost of war, not just read about it. These images influenced journalism and set the stage for modern photojournalism.

5. The Word “Snapshot” Comes from Hunting

The term “snapshot” originally described a quick shot fired by hunters without carefully aiming, first recorded in the late 1800s. By analogy, photographers adopted it to mean a fast, candid photograph. It stuck and today, “snapshot” defines much of everyday photography.

On this World Photographer’s Day, we’re reminded that photography has always been more than just a pastime. From documenting history to capturing fleeting personal moments, every image adds to a larger story of how we see and remember the world. Nearly two centuries after the first photograph, that tradition continues with every press of the shutter.