When most people think about the history of photography, they focus on physical transformation.

After all, it is fairly obvious that the style and design of this art form have changed across time. While this is certainly important, it doesn’t tell you the full story about how photography actually evolved. 

To understand just how – and why – it has altered, let’s take a look at its impact at several important points in history.

Origins in Science and Not Art 

Today you would be hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t consider photography an art. However, once upon a time, most people imagined that photography was meant for the sciences. When it was first invented, it was botanists, chemists, and astronomers that relied on it the most. 

Photographs had very little resemblance to what people considered art 200 or more years ago. As such, people were hesitant to place it in that category. Therefore, they continued to be relegated to research purposes. Not to mention, the early forms of photographs did very little to flatter their subjects – something that the rich and famous were certainly not happy about! 

Involved in the Preservation of Family 

There is no denying that photography is the closest way mankind has come to immortality. This is something that surely impressed the public when such services became available to them. If you were to search for some of the earliest surviving photographs, you are sure to find heaps of family photos. 

Even today, families unearth pictures of ancestors they weren’t even aware existed. With the help of restoration services provided on sites such as instarestoration.com people are able to make these images whole once more and learn about where they came from.  

Revealing the Ravages of War 

There are few events as devastating as war. Yet, for much of history, the effects were only truly felt by soldiers and their family members. While shortages carried on to unaffected areas, this was about the extent of the impact. 

Then, technology made war photography possible. Photographers were finally able to take their equipment to the middle of war zones and capture what it was truly like. In addition, newspapers were finally able to reprint the images exactly as they were.  

Capturing Iconic Moments 

Even when cameras became more readily available and photography wasn’t as sequestered as before, it still held a position of power. This, of course, is because it has the ability to freeze historic moments and showcase them to the world. After all, images such as Muhammad Ali towering over a fallen Sonny Liston continues to evoke the same emotion as it did all those years ago. 

These days, anyone with a smartphone camera can be a photographer. However, this is just another way that photography has evolved yet again, continuing to maintain its stronghold in the future as well.