A camera lucida (Latin: camera lucida, literally 'bright room') is an auxiliary optical device for drawing and copying objects in perspective. A prism is placed between the eyes of the draftsman and the sheet of paper, installed in such a way that light is reflected from the copied object and falls on the paper, creating an image on it. '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, which he accidentally came across, aroused in Barthes a desire to find out what essential feature makes a photograph stand out from the entire collection of images. Having asked the question of classification and systematization of photographs, the philosopher constructs 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, allowing to establish a direct connection with the photographic image.