Architects and surveyors also used the camera in order to obtain perfect perspective (change in perceived size of objects as they move farther away) in their drawings. .
As the popularity of these camera increased, so did the portability. Instead of large rooms, they turned into portable tents. Eventually they evolved into pocket-sized boxes. These boxes had black interiors, lenses, and angled mirrors. These mirrors flip the reversed image so that when the viewer sees the image, it is right side up. The camera was used even centuries after its initial creation and became an inspiration to several pioneers of photography, whose developments lead to the evolution of the modern day camera.
Effects of the Photograph.
Centuries before the creation of the first photograph, alchemists had been studying the chemical properties of various materials. Scientists had noted and observed the light sensitivity of several elements. The pioneers for photography used this information and looked towards the camera obscura as a source of inspiration when developing methods of permanent imaging. .
Many people attribute the creation of the first photograph to Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre with his development of the daguerreotype in 1839 (Ennis, 1989) Collaborating with another inventor by the name of Joseph-Nicéphore Niepce, Daguerre invented a new technique of obtaining images on a copper plate. The daguerreotype had very good image resolution; details that were undetected with the naked eye could be seen under magnification. It also had a 3-dimensional quality that gave it a depth and realism. Though the daguerreotype was only one of several photographic processes, Daguerre's method was the most successful and practical at that time. .
The process of creating a daguerreotype starts with a thoroughly polished copper sheet, clad with silver and covered with iodine. The plate is then placed in a camera and exposed to light from the scene being photographed for three to 30 minutes.
