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 will give you insight into just what IS a great photograph and what makes it great.

What makes a great photograph great? 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 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 favorite 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.

Having a hero is a great motivator and gives you something to work towards. I’ve compiled a list of some iconic 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.

25 Iconic Photographers in History Joseph Nicéphore Niépce1 – in 1825 he created what is generally considered the worlds first photograph. So he should rank as #1 on any list because without his invention, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.

25 Iconic Photographers in History 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.

25 Iconic Photographers in History Margaret Bourke-White – one of the early women photojournalists and photographer for LIFE magazine. 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.

25 Iconic Photographers in History 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.

25 Iconic Photographers in History 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)

25 Iconic Photographers in History Ansel Adams – probably one of the most well known nature and landscape photographers, 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 Systemwith Fred Archer (a complex system for creating the correct exposure using black and white films and papers).

25 Iconic Photographers in History Edward Muybridge – known for this 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.

25 Iconic Photographers in History Philippe Halsman – master portrait photographer of the 1940’s 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”.

25 Iconic Photographers in History 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).

25 Iconic Photographers in History 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” Check out the 1936 at a migrant farm workers camp photo.

25 Iconic Photographers in History 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.

25 Iconic Photographers in History Louis Daguerre – inventor of the Daguerreotype, the first commercially used photographic process. Known as one of the fathers of photography.

25 Iconic Photographers in History 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.

25 Iconic Photographers in History 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 30’s until his death in 1992. If you want to learn about portraiture and lighting I highly suggest you become familiar with his work. 

25 Iconic Photographers in History 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 1900’s. He was also hired to document the building of the Empire State Building, often being hung in basket 1000 feet above 5th Avenue. 

25 Iconic Photographers in History Robert Frank – Swiss-born photographer and film maker, his 1958 book, “The Americans”, not only ruffled some feathers, but was influential for many other photographers looked through their viewfinders, and how Americans viewed themselves. It was an America that wasn’t quite so pretty, or popular.

25 Iconic Photographers in History 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. McCurry has been honoured with many prestigious awards for his work photographing conflicts, disappearing cultures, and ancient rituals. 

25 Iconic Photographers in History 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. He is still working and recently created an alter ego for himself (André S. Solidor which abbreviates to “ass”) as a satire to contemporary photography.

25 Iconic Photographers in History 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.

25 Iconic Photographers in History Yousef Karsh – Armenian by birth. Undisputed as the best, most famous portrait photographer in history. He not only photographed 51 of the most notable people of the century (named by International Who’s Who in 2000), but himself was included on the list!

25 Iconic Photographers in History Garry Winogrand – famous for his documentation of American life in the 1960’s, especially in his home city of New York. He was extremely prolific and died way too young, at age 56. He left behind a legacy of over 300,000 images that were found after his death including 2500 rolls of unprocessed film, 6500 unproofed rolls and others he just hadn’t gotten to yet.

25 Iconic Photographers in History 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.” 

25 Iconic Photographers in History 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 ground breaking and innovative for his time. 

25 Iconic Photographers in History 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. He photographed politicians, artists, musicians, actors, and even photographers in his over 60 year career. He was a master of composition, lighting, lens selection, and background for effect.

Your Assignment Pick any photographer from the list above. Open up a Google Docs or Google Slides (your choice) Create a presentation that details more about that person. Include lots of images, impacts, contributions. (school appropriate!) Make sure you create a bibliography. You will me presenting

QUESTIONS