My First Discoveries · Drawing 40 of 40
Keeping a Photo Memory
Everyday Discoveries
A camera records an image using light. We can keep that image on a screen or print it on paper.
Did you know?
Photography existed long before phones.
Look together
Find the flower, its image on the screen and the paper photo.
An idea to try
Draw something you would like to photograph.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
The Harry Ransom Center dates its Niépce photograph to 1827: the earliest known surviving photograph made using a camera obscura. Daguerre and Talbot later developed other processes. The illustrated camera is a modern digital one. The paper photo is a separately produced print, rather than a sheet emerging from this camera.
With an adult, compare an object with its photo. What does the photo show? What is outside its frame?
Sources and illustration notes (1)
Illustrations simplify shapes and sizes. Models and enlargements help observation; choose your own colours.
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. References identify the institution and the related lesson; some linked pages are in French.
- Harry Ransom Center - The Niépce HeliographThe Harry Ransom Center dates its Niépce photograph to 1827: the earliest known surviving photograph made using a camera obscura. Daguerre and Talbot later developed other processes. The illustrated camera is a modern digital one. The paper photo is a separately produced print, rather than a sheet emerging from this camera.
Source review: 2026-10-03. Illustrations are simplified for colouring.
