The first iteration of the camera was invented in 1816, when Nicéphore Niépce used light exposure and a plate coated with chemicals like bitumen and pewter to capture a temporary photographic image, according to History Things. By the 1850s, photography technology had improved with the invention of the first gelatin dry plate, which meant photographers no longer had to lug heavy tripods and bulky cameras around with them, While they were still far from the small, convenient devices we know and love today, this did allow photographers to take instantaneous pictures with new, hand-held cameras.

As Wood continued his work as a photographic draftsman, his duties began to expand to include taking other official photographs around the Capitol. So when James Buchanan was being sworn into office on March 4, 1857, Wood set up a platform, raised his camera, and snapped the world’s first photograph of a Presidential Inauguration, according to Time. Wood went on to have a career taking photographs in the Civil War, but as far as we know, he never went on to photograph another president again. The very first Chief Official White House Photographer, Cecil W. Stoughton, was appointed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961, and the rest is well-documented American history.