Final answer:
George Eastman is credited with inventing the technology that laid the groundwork for "instant" photography with the development of film in 1884 and the subsequent release of the Kodak camera in 1888.
Step-by-step explanation:
Origins of Instant Photography
The person credited with inventing "instant" photography was George Eastman. In 1884, Eastman, hailing from Rochester, New York, developed a technology that would revolutionize the photography industry: dry gel on paper, commonly known as film. This innovation eliminated the need for photographers to carry cumbersome plates and dangerous chemicals, vastly simplifying the photographic process.
Then, in 1888, Eastman released the Kodak camera with the iconic slogan, "You press the button, we do the rest." This marked the point where photography became accessible to the masses, paving the way towards the concept of instant photography as we understand it today.
Further advances in photographic technology over time led to the development of various forms of instant photography. However, it was Eastman's initial work that laid the foundational stone for these subsequent innovations. The Kodak Brownie camera, introduced in 1901, brought photography into the realm of a mass-market hobby, allowing everyday people to capture moments and memories instantaneously without extensive technical knowledge of the photographic process.