What was life like before the invention of cameras?

Actually, the camera obscura WAS used by artists to assist in painting before the advent of Photography. The artists would sit in a darkened room with a pinhole in one side. The image (rendered upside down) projected on the wall was used by the painters, rather than looking at the scene itself.

Seriously? You've gotta be kidding! Common sense, man! When the camera was invented photography came about. They went hand in hand.