Famous photographers come from all over the world, when it comes to the art it doesn’t discriminate. The only requirements are a good eye and passion for the camera. But, that alone doesn’t put you on our list of famous photographers today. These individuals put in endless hours of work and dedication to the art of photography.
These artists have made a name for themselves by taking stunning photos that capture the human experience and the world. Whether they are shooting on film or digital, these photographers are true masters of their craft.
Famous Photographers of Today
This blog post will look at some of the world’s famous photographers in the 20th and 21st century. Come and explore what makes their work so unique. Whether you’re an aspiring photographer or appreciate great art, we hope you enjoy this journey through the lens!
Annie Leibovitz
Age: 73
Born: October 2, 1949 – Present, Waterbury, CT
Camera Used: Mamiya RZ67
One of the most well-known photographers in the world, Annie Leibovitz, rose to prominence in the 1970s with her candid portraits of celebrities. Her style is instantly recognizable, and her images have graced the covers of countless magazines.
In recent years, she has also turned her lens on everyday people, producing some of the most powerful portraits you’ll ever see.
Annie Leibovitz’s work is characterized by its intimacy and immediacy. She has a knack for making her subjects feel comfortable in front of the camera, which allows her to capture them in their natural state.
As a result, her photos are candid and often reveal things about her subjects that they may not have even known about themselves. She is, without a doubt, one of the most famous portrait photographers in the world.
Some of Annie Leibovitz’s famous photos include
Steve McCurry
Age: 72
Born: April 23, 1950 – Present, Philadelphia, PA
Camera Used: Leica SL
Steve McCurry is a world-renowned photojournalist; he attended Pennsylvania State University, where he studied film. After graduation, he worked for a local newspaper for several years, but this only appealed to him for a short time.
Steve wanted to cover conflicts and world culture but couldn’t do that in the United States. So, he packed up his camera and traveled to India and Pakistan to cover the refugee camps and the Soviet-Afghan War. Steve is most known for his 1984 portrait of Sharbat Gula, an Afghan girl living in a Pakistani refugee camp.
The photo became known as “Afghan Girl” and is one of the most famous portraits and iconic images of the 20th century.
McCurry’s work often focuses on relatable human stories from different cultures worldwide. He has a gift for finding beauty in everyday moments, and his photos always seem to capture a sense of hope and possibility.
Some of Steve McCurry’s famous photos include The Afghan Girl and Dust Storm
Elliot Erwitt
Age: 94
Born: July 26, 1928 – Present, Paris, France
Camera Used: Leica M3
Elliott Erwitt is a famous French photographer who was born to Russian parents. To this day he has been active since the 1950s. He is known for his street photography and advertising work for major brands like Kodak and Levi’s.
Erwitt has also authored several books throughout his career, including one compiled entirely of photographs of dogs playing poker.
Erwitt’ s style is immediately recognizable; his photos are often described as quirky and offbeat. He has a knack for finding humor in unexpected places, and his images always seem to tell a story.
Some of Elliot Erwitt’ s most famous photos include
Peter McKinnon
Age: 37
Born: October 28, 1985 – Present, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Camera Used: Canon
He is a Canadian photographer that has a huge social media following. Peter McKinnon is one of the most famous photographers of today. He is known for his creative and innovative editing techniques and his informative and educational videos about photography.
“The greatest honor of my career” is when one of Peter’s photos of Moraine Lake in Banff National Park got made into a collector’s coin by the Royal Canadian Mint. With almost 10 million social media followers, people can’t get enough of Pete’s photos and videos.
Some of Peter’s famous photos include Paris and The Bucket Shot
Jordi Puig aka Jordi Koalitic
Age: 30
Born: June 18, 1992 – Present, Barcelona, Spain
Camera Used: Sony
Before starting his career in 2012, Jordi studied audiovisual communication while working as a freelance photographer. He and his brother Arnau spent years creating content for social media sites like Instagram, where he gained traction and a flowing.
But it was only when he made a TikTok account that he exploded with popularity and fame. In the world of editing software and over-processed images, Jordi took a different approach where he created visual effects in real life instead of editing them with programs like Photoshop.
His content focuses on “How to” educational content, where he reveals his techniques to people and inspires them with their photos.
Some of Jordi Koalitic’s famous photos include the Album Cover for MGK and The Chains
Pierre T. Lambert
Age: 35
Born: October 12, 1987 – Present, France
Camera Used: SONY
Pierre wasn’t always a photographer; he received his degree in Engineering from Arts et Métiers Paris Tech in 2010. He worked as an engineer while pursuing his passion for photography until 2015.
In that year, he founded KYMA, a marketplace for photographers. At that time is when he became a full-time photographer and content creator. His photography style focuses on street and adventure photography.
He also does videos on YouTube about photography, videos ranging from lenses and reviews to photo stories.
Some of Pierre T Lambert’s famous photos include
Famous Photographers of the Past
Ansel Adams
Age: 82
Born: February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984, San Francisco, California
Camera Used: Pocket Kodak
A true master of his craft, Ansel Adams is renowned for his dramatic black-and-white landscape photographs of the American West. On his first trip to Yosemite National Park, he realized he wanted to be a photographer; its beauty inspired him to capture beautiful landscape photographs.
Adams developed his own Zone System for optimal contrast in his prints and was one of the first photographers to utilize large-format cameras.
His work helped raise awareness about environmental issues and played a crucial role in getting Congress to pass laws protecting America’s national parks.
Some of Adams’s most famous photos include Moonrise over Hernandez and Monolith: The Face of Half Dome.
Diane Arbus
Age: 48
Born: March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971, Manhattan, New York
Camera Used: 35 mm Nikon
Diane Arbus was a 20th-century American photographer born into a wealthy family; she was known for her portraits of marginalized groups like circus performers, transvestites, and twins.
Her stark black-and-white photographs often highlighted the tension between conformity and eccentricity, making her one of the most controversial photographers of her time. Arbus committed suicide in 1971 at the age of 48.
Arbus is perhaps best known for her photograph “Identical Twins, Roselle New Jersey” (1967), which appeared on Time’s magazine cover in 1972. Other notable works include “Child with Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park” (1962) and “Teenage Couple on Staten Island Ferry” (1963).
Some of Diane’s most famous photos include.
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Age: 95
Born: August 22, 1908 – August 3, 2004, Chanteloup-en-Brie, France
Camera Used: Leica 35 mm
Henri was another famous French photographer who was an early pioneer of street photography. Henri Cartier-Bresson is often considered one of the fathers of photojournalism and part of the surrealist movement.
His trademark candid style captured everyday life in an artful and intimate way. His work got published in magazines and newspapers worldwide. In 1952, he co-founded the Magnum Photos agency, which is still in operation today.
Some of Cartier-Bresson’s most famous photos.
Dorothea Lange
Age: 70
Born: May 25, 1895 – October 11, 1965, Hoboken, New Jersey
Camera Used: Graflex
Before owning a camera, Lange knew she wanted to become a photographer. After finishing her studies at Columbia University, she worked with several New York Studios. In 1918, Lange left New York to travel the world, but the unfortunate event of a robbery halted her trip and relocated Lange to San Francisco.
There she met her husband, Maynard Dixon, and opened her first photography studio focused on portrait photography.
For the next 15 years, this was Lange’s bread and butter, but that wasn’t what led her to fame. When she decided to turn her camera to the street, she became a famous portrait photographer.
In the 1930s, the great depression was taking the country by storm. Lange’s work documented the poverty and migration out west by people looking for jobs. Taking photos and learning about people’s lives led to a new type of “documentary” photography.
Some of Dorothea Lange’s famous photos include
Arnold Genthe
Age: 73
Born: January 8, 1869 – August 9, 1942, Berlin, Prussia (present-day Germany)
Camera Used: Unknown
Arnold was originally a scholar and followed in his father’s footsteps, getting his doctorate in Philology from the University of Jena in 1894.
The following year he moved to San Francisco, where he worked as a tutor and taught himself photography. In the late 1890s, he opened a studio to photograph the city’s wealthy elite. In 1911 he moved to New York and had several famous people sit for him, including John D Rockefeller.
He was a famous portrait photographer and was also known for his photos of The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. Arnold was also an early adaptor of color photography.
Some of Arnold Genthe’s famous photos include.
Clarence Hudson White
Age: 54
Born: April 8, 1871 – July 7,1925, West Carlisle, Ohio
Camera Used: Unknown
Growing up in a small rural town in Ohio, White didn’t have many outside influences besides his family. When he went to the World Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, he found his passion for photography.
Entirely self-taught, his style of work starts to be recognized. He created his own style, which today is known as Pictorial Photography. After becoming a famous photographer, he used his name to promote photography as an art form. In 1914, he founded the Clarence H. White School for Photography, the first institution in America to teach photography as art.
Some of Clarence White’s work include.
These are just a few of the many famous photographers working today. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out more of their work; you won’t be disappointed!
Whether they’re capturing everyday moments or chronicling significant events, famous photographers show us that a great picture is worth a thousand words—or more! We hope this blog post has inspired you to think differently about photography and to see the world through new eyes.
