"Camera lucida. Commentary on photography" (1980) by Roland Barthes is one of the first fundamental studies of the nature of photography and at the same time an homage to the author's late mother. Interest in a photograph from 1870 that he accidentally came across made Barthes want to know what essential feature makes a photograph stand out from the entire set of images. Having asked the question of classification and systematization of photographs, the philosopher builds his own phenomenology, introducing the concepts of Studium and Punctum. Studium denotes the cultural, linguistic and political interpretation of photography, Punctum - a purely personal emotional meaning that allows one to establish a direct connection with the photographic image.