Choosing from the billions of people holding at least some kind of camera, how to determine the best? Who are those people who left their mark on the art of photography, who did what they did not do before, or who had a greater influence on other photo masters? Are these photographers who mastered one grandiose project or did an outstanding job throughout their lives?
Even in the most extensive list it is impossible to include all the favorites, however, we have assembled the entire team of enthusiasts and issued our rating of the best photographers of the world of all time.
1
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004)
The greatest master of photography, Cartier-Bresson, has exerted a monumental influence on modern photojournalism and its design into a separate art form. Among his achievements, the creation of the Magnum agency in 1947, as well as masterpieces in documentary, portrait and landscape photography. His concept of capturing the event at a “decisive moment” had a huge impact on photojournalists.
2
Ansel Adams (1902-1984)
This is probably one of the best masters of landscape photography. Adams rejected the generally accepted pictorial style, offering his vision under the title of "rigorous and glowing poetry of reality." He also co-authored a zone system that helps to more accurately calculate exposure. He became famous throughout the world for his pictures in black and white, showing the natural grandeur of nature in Yosemite National Park.
3
Sebastian Salgado (born 1944)
Salgadu is rightfully considered the superstar of modern photojournalism and the master of documentary photography. He was educated in the economic field, but then began to make a living as a photograph in 1973. His black and white photographs highlighted the problems of social inequality and poverty of the Earth’s population. For the past 45 years he has been involved in a number of major international projects, during which he visited more than 100 countries.
2
Bill Brandt (1904-1983)
Brandt was born in Germany, but moved to Britain, creating his own style in photography of various genres. Starting from the 30s of the XX century, his work began to bear a social character, depicting various British layers of the population, as well as local landscapes. In addition, Brandt made scandalous and sharp portraits, as well as filmed nudity.
5
Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879)
Cameron was one of the first photographers to explore this craft and raise it to the rank of art. She began to work from the middle of the XIX century, photographing mainly the heads of great personalities of the Victorian era, trying to show all the greatness of the mind of iconic figures of that time. Images were presented at the exhibition in the form of negatives on glass plates. But among her models were not only celebrities such as John Herschel and Alfred Tennyson, but also ordinary people, relatives and friends.
6
Richard Avedon (1923-2004)
Avedon is one of the most famous American photographers of the 20th century. He gained recognition in documentary and fashion photography by creating beautiful portraits in glossy magazines Hasper’s Bazaar and Vogue. In addition, he created black and white portraits, photographing ordinary people, among whom the work published in his album "American West" from 1985 received special fame.
7
Irwin Penn (1917-2009)
Revered among professional photographers, Penn was primarily a fashion photographer who took pictures for celebrities and affluent clients. He also became famous as a master of portraits and still life. Carefully illuminated and restrained images of the master were recognized due to its rarity and simplicity. Among his most famous portraits are pictures of Pablo Picasso and Truman Capote, as well as fashionable images of his wife, supermodel Lisa Fonsagrivz.
8
Don McCaleen (born 1935)
Despite the fact that Makkalin devoted the lion's share of his career to military photographs in Vietnam, Cambodia and Cyprus, his documentary works, which depict the gloomy landscapes of his native England, were most famous. Brave and unwavering in his quest for truth, he was awarded the knighthood for his achievements in photography.
9
Margaret Bourke-White (1904-1971)
Known as Unbreakable Maggie, Bourke-White was the first woman to work as a correspondent in the war, and also the first woman to be a photojournalist for Life magazine. She found the start of hostilities in Moscow during the Second World War, and also photographed the release of captive concentration camps. Prior to this, she was the first foreigner who was allowed to photograph industrial facilities of the USSR, and later worked in India during the conflict with Pakistan.
10
Cecil Beaton (1904-1980)
Beaton was one of the greatest portrait and fashion photographers of the 20th century. Fascinated by glamor and elegant style, he took many pictures for fashion magazines, including Vogue and Vanity Fair from the 20s to the 70s. He also created outfits, sets and interior designers for theater and film productions.
11
Robert Capa (1913-1954)
Kapa was a photojournalist from Hungary and co-founder of Magnum Photos. During his career, he visited five "hot spots", including working in Spain during the civil war. He earned special merits for the photos of the landing of the Allied forces of Normandy, which went down in history as "Magnificent Eleven." It was blown up by a mine during the first war in Indochina.
12
Alfred Stiglitz (1864-1946)
Stiglitz was a real giant in photography, being a trendsetter and discoverer all rolled into one. In the 1890s, he made scandalous statements at that time, arguing that photography was the same kind of art as painting or sculpture. He was a supporter of “direct” photography without any processing, and also promoted a lot of novice photographers.
13
Joel Meyerowitz (born 1938)
With the beginning of his career in the 60s of the XX century, Meyerowitz received the status of a pioneer, after which he started shooting on a large-format camera, the pictures of which were included in his book “Cape Light”. He was also the only photographer admitted to the scene of the tragedy of September 11, 2001. Documentary work from the scene became the basis for the Aftermath book. During his career, he published about 20 books with his photographs.
14
Eva Arnold (1912-2012)
Despite the fact that Arnold gained wide fame thanks to pictures of trendsetters in culture, including Marilyn Monroe, she is also famous as the first woman to join the ranks of Magnum Photos agency. Preferring to work in natural light, it covered a truly wide range of work, ranging from bizarre to serious, including photo reports on the civil rights movement and the strike of agricultural workers.
15
Bruce Davidson (born 1933)
American documentary photographer, famous for his series of shots in Harlem. In his works, he preferred to depict marginalized layers of the population. I always tried to understand the essence of the people being photographed, plunging into their lives and problems, whether it was teenage gangs in Brooklyn, circus artists or residents of one of the Harlem neighborhoods.
16
Dorothea Lange (1895-1965)
Lange was an innovator in documentary photography and photojournalism. Despite a series of portrait shots taken by Lange in her own studio at the beginning of her career, she plunged into documentary works, depicting unemployed and homeless Americans during the Great Depression of the 30s. Her most famous photograph, Mother Migrant, dated 1936, depicts a poor woman with children.
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17
Arnold Newman (1918-2006)
Newman began to take portraits in the 30s of the last century, preferring to work in the house or at work with the model in order to create a relaxed atmosphere and get more information about them. This unusual approach for that time made Newman the father of the genre of "natural" photography. Among his most famous works were photographs of Igor Stravinsky and Pablo Picasso.
18
Robert Duano (1912-1994)
Duano was a French photojournalist who became famous for his humorous shots of his native Paris. They covered the bright side of the life of ordinary people and were competently agreed and assembled. The most famous work of Robert “A kiss at the Hotel de Ville”, which depicts a kiss of a couple on a street in Paris.
19
Edward Weston (1886-1958)
Weston is one of the most famous photographers from America of the XX century. A charismatic innovator, he became famous for his widescreen photos with lots of details. Over the course of his 40-year career, he worked in many genres, shooting desert landscapes, nude models, and also performing a number of still lifes, including peppers and shells.
20
Harold Edgerton (1903-1990)
Edgerton was an electrical engineer who invented the world's first electronic flash. He also took a huge number of so-called flash shots that “caught” stunning actions that were not subject to the human eye. Among them are a bullet piercing an apple, as well as a “storyboard” of the movements of athletes or dancers.
21
Edward Styhen (1879-1973)
Steichen is considered one of the founding fathers of fashion photography. Before the outbreak of World War II, he was the highest paid photographer, posting pictures in Vogue and Vanity Fair. In the post-war period, he began to supervise the department devoted to photography at the Museum of Modern Art, exhibiting his works at the famous exhibition of 1955, “The Human Race”.
22
Burt Hardy (1913-1995)
Working in the Picture Post magazine, Hardy became one of Britain's most beloved photographers thanks to the many shots that portrayed ordinary people in a positive light. He also worked on serious projects such as coverage of events during the Korean War. In the middle of the 20th century (50s and 60s), he was one of the highest paid masters in the advertising photography genre of Great Britain.
23
William Eggleston (born 1939)
Egleston is an American photographer who found unusual in everyday life. His style of "snapshot" in combination with color printing, using rich colors, elevated ordinary objects to the rank of art. He is considered the father of color photography, who developed it in a separate artistic direction.
24
Elliott Erwitt (born 1928)
Erwitt is an advertising and editorial photographer who has become famous for his special style of shots. He took black and white photographs of the ironic genre, on which he depicted “sketches” from everyday life. His favorite objects were people on the beaches and in museums, and he also released several books with pictures of dogs.
25
Steve Maccary (born 1950)
Maccari is one of the most beloved living photojournalists. He has long been a member of Magnum and a fellow at National Geographic. His eventful career is filled with images of military conflicts, natural disasters, as well as travel photos and portraits. The most famous picture of the photographer is “Afghan Girl”, made in 1985. We already mentioned this girl in our article about the most beautiful eyes in the world.