A
photograph or
photo is an
image created by
light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually
photographic film or an electronic medium such as a
CCD or a
CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a
camera, which uses a
lens to focus the scene's
visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of what the human
eye would see. The process and practice of creating photographs is called
photography. The word "photograph" was coined in 1839 by
Sir John Herschel and is based on the
Greek φῶς (
phos), meaning "light", and γραφή (
graphê), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light".
