Photography turned the optical image into a stable, socially shareable record. Its history begins with Nicéphore Niépce, who captured in 1826 the oldest surviving permanent photograph using his heliography technique. In 1829 Niépce and Daguerre formed a partnership; Niépce died in 1833 without seeing the final result. Daguerre perfected the process until exposure time was reduced to minutes and named the result after himself. In 1839 the French government presented the daguerreotype to the world as Daguerre's invention, eclipsing Niépce in public memory. Photography transformed optics: vision was no longer limited to the real-time eye but could produce permanent visual documents.