Louis Daguerre was an influential French painter and photographer born in 1787. He started his career as an apprentice architect but later became interested in painting. Daguerre invented the diorama, a novel theatrical display using painted canvases and lighting effects. Partnering with Joseph Niepce, one of the earliest photographers, Daguerre helped develop the first practical photographic process, the daguerreotype. Using iodine-sensitized silver-plated sheets developed with mercury vapor, Daguerre produced the first clear photographic images. Though Niepce died before their joint success, Daguerre's name was given to the new invention. The daguerreotype revolutionized image-making and Daguer