25 Famous Photographers in History

Why is the history of photography important?

Having a better understanding of the history of your craft, and those that helped form it, will undoubtedly help make you a better photographer. If you strive to take great photographs, studying the work of the masters, these famous photographers, will give you insight into just what IS a great photograph and what makes it great.

What makes a great photograph great?

Years ago when I was in photography college one of my instructors showed us an image by Alfred Stieglitz called The Steerage and raved on and on about it.

I didn’t get why it was so great. I truly did not understand the image, or its significance, until well into my career, when I finally had my epiphany and “got it”.

I will let you form your own opinion and understanding of this image by doing your own research. It’s a great image to study.

The lesson here for me, and you if you are willing to take it on, is that there is deeper meaning in many of history’s great photographs if only you take the time to look at them a bit closer.

All the greats have heroes, get yourself one

Think about your favourite sports star or celebrity.

Inevitably at some point, they will be asked who their hero or heroine is, and they all have one.

It’s the one that made them get into their field, the one that keeps them striving for excellence. It may be someone living, but perhaps not.

If you are a hockey fan you will probably know that Wayne Gretzky’s hero was Gordie Howe, whom he eventually met, smashed most Gordie’s records and even played alongside him in a game or two.

Having a hero is a great motivator and gives you something to work towards.

I’ve compiled a list of some iconic or famous photographers throughout history to get you started. This list is not exhaustive by any means, but rather the ones that have meant something to me. If you have other favourites, please list them in the comments section below and tell me why they are your heroes.

25 Famous Photographers in History

In no particular order:

1. Joseph Nicéphore Niépce – in 1825 he created what is generally considered the world’s first photograph. So he should rank as #1 on any list because without his invention, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. Niépce should be the most famous photographer, all things considered.
2. Alfred Steiglitz – prominent photographer in history, he played a large part in photography becoming thought of more as art at the turn of the century (1900s). He was married to painter Georgia O’Keefe and his iconic images of New York City of the period are true works of art.

   

3. Margaret Bourke-White – one of the early women photojournalists and photographer for LIFE magazine, she is one of my own personal heroes. If you can get your hands on a copy of the movie depicting her life (she’s played by Farrah Fawcett brilliantly) do so and watch it! She was known to be fearless (or crazy) and she created the last portrait of Gandhi hours before his assassination.
4. Henri Cartier-Bresson – French photographer, considered by many historians to be the “father of photojournalism”. He was a master of street photography or “candids” and coined the phrase “The Decisive Moment”. His is the standard to which many journalists aspire still to this day.
5. Robert Capa – combat photographer that covered 5 different wars from the Spanish Civil War to WWII. One of the founding members of Magnum Photos (the world’s most prestigious photographic agency).

   

6. Ansel Adams – probably one of the most famous photographers in the nature and landscape niche. You’ve likely seen his images whether you knew the maker or not. His black and white photographs of Yosemite Valley CA are well spread in galleries, on posters and in books. A search for “Ansel Adams” on Amazon yields over 5600 results! He also created The Zone System with Fred Archer (a complex system for creating the correct exposure using black and white films and papers).
7. Edward Muybridge – known for his pioneering work in motion photographic studies and motion pictures, he is often credited with having created the first movie projector. He also studied animals and motion and through his images discovered the horse’s gait includes all four feet off the ground simultaneously.
8. Philippe Halsman – master portrait photographer of the 1940s through to his death in 1979. He holds the distinction of having more covers of LIFE magazine than any other photographer at 101. He and surrealist painter Salvador Dali had an ongoing collaboration and friendship for 37 years, from which he published the book “Dali’s Moustache”. His portraits were creative, innovative, and thought-provoking.
9. W. Eugene Smith – World War II photographer for LIFE, and master of the photo essay, producing such notable stories as: Country Doctor, Spanish Village and Man of Mercy (on the work of Albert Schweitzer).

   

10. Dorothea Lange – documentary photographer and photojournalist known for her images of the Great Depression humanizing the plight of the workers and those most affected by the depression. Her iconic image “Migrant Mother” was taken in 1936 at a migrant farm workers camp.
11. Edward Weston – one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century; Weston is famous for his images of natural forms, nudes, close-ups, and landscape photography. Take a look at his images of bell peppers and his abstract nudes, then tell me what you see? His legacy is now a three-generation span of photographers, his sons Cole and Brett, and grandchildren Kim and Cara.
12. Louis Daguerre – inventor of the Daguerreotype, the first commercially used photographic process. Known as one of the fathers of photography.
13. James Nachtwey – google the term “war photographer” and you’ll find this man, due in part to a documentary of his life by the same name, produced in 2001. However, many people do consider him synonymous with the phrase. For over 30 years he covered war-torn areas, civil rights struggles, famine, and socio-political issues.

    

14. George Hurrell – master portrait photographer to the stars since 1929 when he was hired by MGM Studios. He has photographed every major Hollywood star since the early ’30s until his death in 1992. If you want to learn about portraiture and lighting I highly suggest you become familiar with his work.
15. Lewis Hine – documentary photographer whose images were instrumental in helping change child labor laws in the United States through his work with the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) in the early 1900s.
16. Robert Frank – Swiss-born photographer and filmmaker, his 1958 book, “The Americans”, was influential for many other photographers looked through their viewfinders, and how Americans viewed themselves.
17. Steve McCurry – American photojournalist famous for his image “Afghan Girl”, cover of the June 1985 National Geographic. The image was named: “the most recognized photograph” in the history of the magazine.

    

18. Elliot Erwitt – French-born, New York City implanted photographer known for his sense of humour, and for photographs of ironic and bizarre situations in everyday life. His passion for dogs shows, having published four books with images of canines.
19. Robert Mapplethorpe – controversy surrounded his erotic images of male nudes, but they are technically masterful. He received acclaim for his large format black and white portraits and images of flowers.
20. Harold Edgerton – technically not a photographer, he is credited with developing the strobe light from a lab instrument to a photography tool capably of freezing fast-moving objects such as a bullet piercing an apple, and a balloon exploding.
21. Yousef Karsh – Armenian by birth, but claimed by Canadians as our own. Undisputed as the best, most famous portrait photographer in history. He not only photographed 51 of the most notable people of the century, but himself was included on the list! His iconic portrait of Winston Churchill launched him to star status.

    

22. Garry Winogrand – famous for his documentation of American life in the 1960s, especially in his home city of New York. He was extremely prolific and left behind a legacy of over 300,000 images that were found after his death.
23. Richard Avedon – fashion and portrait photographer from 1941 until his death in 2004, his obituary in the New York Times read: “his fashion and portrait photographs helped define America’s image of style, beauty and culture for the last half-century.”
24. Irving Penn – actually started as an illustrator for Harper’s Bazaar and went on to be one of the most prominent photographers for Vogue magazine. His fashion photography, nudes, and still life images were groundbreaking and innovative for his time.
25. Arnold Newman – possibly the first photographer to embrace and practice “environmental portraiture”, Newman went to his subjects milieu to create not only a likeness of their face, but to capture a sense of the inner being of the person.

Action Plan

I suggest you use this list of famous photographers as a starting point and let yourself get into a Google drift.

Research these and other important photographers in history. View their images, look at their books, watch documentaries on their lives and their work. Most libraries contain a great many books on photography history, take a few out and see who speaks to you.

Whose work do you relate to?

Who do you aspire to be like?

Finally, whenever possible go look at photography exhibits. I am fortunate enough to have seen the work of five of the photographers on this list.

Many of the prints original, and hand made by the artists themselves.

It is one thing to look at images on the internet and in books, it is quite another to stand in front of a true masterpiece in all its glory. To wonder what the photographer was thinking when they snapped the shutter? Start thinking more like that instead of what aperture you use and you will grow as a photographer.

Cheers,