Who Were The First People Photographed?

The first surviving photograph with people was taken in 1838 by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre. The photo isn't of a particular person, but of the scenery of Boulevard du Temple, Paris. The type of photograph that this is is called a Daguerreotypes after this famous photographer.

The street itself looks empty, but it was actually busy at the time. Due to the exposure time being more than 10 minutes and the traffic was too fast to be caught on camera. If you look at the bottom right of the photo you could see a man getting his boots polished by another long enough to show. Another man can be seen reading a newspaper on a bench to the left of the duo. To the right underneath one of the street lantern, a woman is standing. You may be able to spot some possible ones such as a man standing under an awning of the third building or the two faces in the windows in the closest building.

It's believed that Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre didn't know any of the people he photographed, or if he did he didn't do it on purpose. Some believe though that the duo seen very clear were planted there by him to pull the photograph together. It'll never be known but either way, Daguerre was probably pleased with seeing people in the photograph.

SOURCES:
Wikipedia

Alistar Scott

Open Culture