What does photography mean?
Photography is the art and practice of making photographs, especially with a camera, and also the broader field of photographic images and technique. In ordinary use it names an activity, a discipline, or the work produced by it, rather than a single image; a camera photograph is normally called a photograph. The word carries no special regional restriction and is widely used in art, journalism, science, commerce, and personal documentation. Its connotations range from creative expression and technical skill to evidence and memory, so context often determines whether it sounds artistic, documentary, commercial, or intimate. Photography is also a useful interdisciplinary term because a single image can combine optical, chemical, digital, and editorial decisions. Mastering the word helps distinguish the process from its products and from the specialized practices that fall within it.
nounThe art or process of producing images by recording light, especially with a camera; by extension, the photographs and photographic work created through this process.
- The art, process, or field of making photographs, especially with a camera.
"Her exhibition explores how photography can preserve both personal memory and social history."
"Her exhibition explores how photography can preserve both personal memory and social history."
"The course combines portraiture with documentary photography and teaches students to work ethically in the field."
Rare in modern general use. It may refer collectively to a series of photographs or to photographs produced in a particular style.
"The archive preserves early photographic studies of the coastline."
Photography literally means “writing with light,” a remarkably literal description of an invention that transformed how people preserve images.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does photography come from?
Photography was formed in the early 19th century from Greek phōtós, meaning “light,” and graphía, meaning “writing” or “drawing.” The term emerged alongside the development of photographic image-making processes and was initially associated with the chemical recording of light-images. It is closely related to photograph, photographer, and other words built from the same Greek elements, including photon, photometer, and photochemistry.
Related word forms
How photography is actually used
Photography is normally an uncountable mass noun. The form “a photography” is understood in some regional and older usage as “a photograph,” but “a photograph” is standard in contemporary English.