Le Gray made his first daguerreotypes in 1847; taught photography to Charles Nègre, Henri Le Secq, Nadar and Maxime Du Camp amongst others; became one of the first five photographers hired for the Missions Héliographiques to document French monuments and buildings, 1851; helped found the Société Héliographique, 1851; opened studio in 1855 and became official photographer of Napoleon III. He established a shop in Cairo in 1864.