Fine art photography is a work of aesthetic value. Some of the subjects of fine art photography are urban landscapes, nudes, portraits, wildlife landscapes and stills. Like any other fine art, art photography is governed by artistic concepts such as composition, color balance and line.

The first permanent photograph was taken by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1826, using camera obscura and a chemical-coated pewter plate.http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photographers/photography-timeline.html By 1939, Louis Daguerre invented the daguerreotype, a photographic image created by exposing a silver-plated copper sheet to light.http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/photography/processframe.php?processid=pr006 After the invention of the daguerreotype, people during the Victorian era began to explore the artistic possibilities of the media.

One of the first fine art photographers was Oscar Gustave Rejlander.http://www.rleggat.com/photohistory/history/rejlande.htm In 1857, he displayed an allegorical photograph named The Two Ways of Life.http://www.rleggat.com/photohistory/history/rejlande.htm It caused controversy in Victorian society because of the nude figures.http://www.rleggat.com/photohistory/history/rejlande.htm However, Queen Victoria of England bought the painting, which brought credibility to the medium.http://www.rleggat.com/photohistory/history/rejlande.htm

Fred Holland Day is another notable figure in fine art photography history. He began exploring photography as an art form in 1886.http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=1804 His work was considered controversial because of his male nudity and avant-garde religious subjects.http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=1804 However, Day was one of the first individuals to argue that photography should be considered an art form.http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=1804 At that time, photography was still seen as a science, not an art.

Alfred Stieglitz was born in 1864 in Hoboken, New Jersey.http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=1851 Many historians credit Stieglitz with finally elevating photography from a scientific discovery to a fine art form.http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=1851 A recurring theme in his art is the urban landscape of New York City. However, his portraits of his wife Georgia O'Keeffe (American modernism painter) are also well known.http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=1851 Stieglitz helped bring legitimacy to art photography by creating photography galleries and journals such as Camera Work.http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=1851 He founded the Pictorialist and Photo-Secessionist art photography movements.http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=1851

Ansel Adams is known around the world as a landscape photographer.http://www.anseladams.com/anseladams_biography_s/51.htm He was born in San Francisco, California on February 20, 1902.http://www.anseladams.com/anseladams_biography_s/51.htm In his early career, he tried to follow in the footsteps of Alfred Stieglitz.http://www.anseladams.com/anseladams_biography_s/51.htm However, he eventually developed his own style and became known for his expert technical knowledge.http://www.anseladams.com/anseladams_biography_s/51.htm The subject of many of his pieces is the American West and Yosemite.http://www.anseladams.com/anseladams_biography_s/51.htm Adams helped bring the first department of art photography to a museum, which was held in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.http://www.anseladams.com/anseladams_biography_s/51.htm