Are you already familiar with the work of these famous photographers?

Photography like any art, should not be practiced in an echo chamber. In order to become better at your craft you need to see what other artists are doing. This is how people grow and hone their specific skill set.

Trying to emulate famous photographers work is not stealing, its merely a practice of your skill. The act of creating something new and unique comes out of this practice. Here’s our list of famous photographers that I hope you can get some creative inspiration from.

Here’s our list of the top 26 famous photographers of all time!

1. Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz is a very famous photographer. She began her career shooting for Rolling Stone magazine, working there for 10 years before moving on to other ventures. She shoots for many publications but does a majority of her work for Vanity Fair.

If you were to pick up a current issue of the magazine she would probably have shot some of the images in it. Leibovitz has photographed almost every celebrity imaginable and what really sets her apart from other photographers is her lighting style.

She uses a very distinct lighting setup which delivers a muted almost painterly image. Her photographs are very recognizable if you have studies her work even for a short period of time. Consistency in your photographic style is a great skill to attain because it means people can easily recognize your work and you will get hired more.

If you want to emulate Annie Leibovitz, you must become a master in studio lighting. Although studio lighting can be a bit scary at first, when done well the reward is a beautifully crafted image. Using special lighting isn’t always expensive either.

You can purchase amazing off brand speed lights from amazon for about a quarter of what you would pay for name brand ones. After that its just a matter of getting comfortable with your gear and practicing often.

famous photographers
A typical portrait by Annie Lebovitz has muted colors and lots of props.

Here’s a GREAT behind the scenes video of Annie Leibovitz in action!

2. Gregory Crewdson

This man’s work is literally huge. Think of the most extravagant photograph that could ever be constructed and Gregory Crewdson has done it. Gregory Crewdson has become a famous photographer for this exact reason.

He spends thousands and even millions of dollars to create a single photograph. Imagine the set of a major motion picture being used for one single image. Gregory began experimenting with these large-scale sets in college and just keep making them more extravagant.

He utilizes everything from busted fire hydrants to manually fogging up whole sets to achieve this look. He uses a large format camera to capture all the depth that is going on in each scene and then makes huge prints. I have been told that the only way to grasp the depth and detail of his photographs is to see them in person.

The idea of setting up scenes is very interesting and one that could be experimented with at great length. You don’t have to invest a lot of money or have many tools to create something amazing. I recommend starting off by recreating some of Gregory’s shots and then try some of your own ideas. This would be another great place to implement the use of speed lights.

famous photographers

Crewdson uses theatrics and cinematic tools to accomplish his complex photographs.

3. Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon was a fashion and portrait photographer from New York. He became famous by shooting for many publications and photographed an array of famous people. But the work that I want to point out is a body of photographs entitled In The American West.

In The American West, Richard traveled across the country photographing everyday people that he thought were interesting. He would put up a white sheet on the north side of a building for even lighting and a consistent background. His assistants would be constantly reloading his giant 8×10 camera while he interacted with the subjects.

As he walked around he would snap a photo getting incredible expressions from the people standing in front of his camera. Similar to Crewdson’s work, Avedon printed these very large. The detail in each image is breathtaking.

While some regarded this work as a fashion and portrait photographer as poking fun at blue collar workers, I think that it sheds a beautiful light on the professions these people had. It offered viewers in galleries and insight into everyday life and work that they were not accustomed to and put it right in front of their faces to experience. These images are also stunningly beautiful works of art.

Avedon really took his time in choosing interesting and unique individuals to photograph. These pictures are very worth spending some time looking at.

By photographing people on the same background, Avedon puts his subjects on a level playing field.

4. Elliott Erwitt

Moving away from large format photography, Elliott Erwitt primarily shot on a 35mm camera. Erwitt was originally from France and immigrated to the United States to go to college. He worked as a photography assistant in the US army where he honed his skills.

Elliott focused a lot of his attention on street photography and is one of the wittiest street photographers ever to grace the earth. His images are both deep and funny at the same time images. If you like street photography, Elliott Erwitt will blow you away!

This is a classic example of Erwitt’s comedic approach to photography.

5. Vivian Maier

Probably known as one of the most interesting photographers, Vivian Maier did not become famous until after her death. In 2007 John Maloof purchased a trunk of negatives and undeveloped film from an auction. Little did he know that the contents of this trunk would include thousands of images by a soon to be a well-known photographer named Vivian Maier.

What we now know about Vivian is that she spent her life as a nanny. She mainly photographed on a twin lens 6×6 camera and brought it everywhere she went. The majority of her photographs were taken in Chicago and New York. She simply photographed everything that interested her when she walked down the streets.

Although she was known to be reclusive and weird, her photographs do not depict this side of her. Vivian’s images are bold showing strangers staring right into her camera. I can only imagine what people thought when they noticed a nanny pointing a camera at them on the streets of Chicago.

But her constant photographing paid off and her images are very careful and beautiful. The most striking thing about her photographs is that they seem to be from another era. When you look at her work it looks like it could have been shot in the  30’s or 40’s, yet most of them were shot much later on.

If you want to learn more about Vivian Maier I recommend watching a wonderful documentary made about her entitled Finding Vivian Maier. 

Vivian Maier seemed to always be at the right place at the right time.

6. Ansel Adams

Ansel Adams is well known for his breathtaking nature photographs in the 1930’s and for 25 years to follow. Few people know that Ansel Adams was also a staunch environmentalist. Ansel Adams grew up in Northern California, and spent much of his youth at Yosemite National Park, which became the spotlight of his work.

His first notable piece was his famous image Monolith, the Face of Half Dome. You can watch more about Ansel and his work below!

7. Steve McCurry

Another famous photographer, Steve McCurry shot one of the most famous photographs in National Geographic history. McCurry’s career took off when he snuck into Afghanistan before the Soviet invasion.

He managed to sneak rolls of film out of the country by sewing them into his clothes and the images were made famous by the New York Times and Time magazine.

His most famous photograph is entitled “Afghan Girl,” is a simple portrait of a young girl. It is hard to describe how incredible the photograph is but there is just something so captivating about it. It captured the worlds attention and has been one of the most famous pictures to ever grace to cover of National Geographic.

He tried to replicate the photo by photographing the same girl years later but it did not have the same effect. Steve McCurry is still working as a photographer and has spent a lot of his career overseas capturing stunning portraits of common people.

McCurry created a hauntingly beautiful image here.

8. Robert Frank

Robert Frank was a Swiss-American photographer best known for his book entitles The Americans. Frank traveled across America by car in 1955 capturing the everyday lives of Americans. When his book finally got published and printed in the United States, it was met with criticism.

Luckily for Frank, he had Jack Kerouac wright the introduction which gave the book some traction.  Over the years the book became a beloved classic in the art world and most of the critics vanished.

If you ever get a chance to look through The Americans, you will see how refreshing the view is from Franks camera. He gives an outsiders perspective that may not have been as powerful from a patriots point of view.

Robert Frank was aware of the social aspects of America in the 50’s.

9. Gary Winogrand

Winogrand was a street photographer who operated out of the Bronx, New York City. He worked as a freelance photojournalist and an advertising photographer but he loved the street. He had an ingenious way of shooting a decisive moment where he would focus without looking through the camera.

By guessing how far his subject was he would look at his lens and guess the focal point. He was very good enough at this and got great black and white images time and time again. Winogrand was also known for shooting with a wide angle lens and putting it right in strangers faces to create black and white dynamic shots. His work will live forever as some of the best street photography images ever created.

Winogrand was always aware of how people fit in spaces as well as how comedy can be found in every aspect of life.

10. Dorothea Lange

Dorothea Lange was a documentary photographer and is best known for her black and white work in the great depression era. As a documentary photographer, Dorothea Lange worked for the Farm Security Administration documenting the lives of people during the early 1930’s and at this time captured her most famous photograph.

Dorothea Lange’s photograph entitled Migrant Mother depicts a mother with two young children living in a lean-to tent. She told Dorothea Lange that they had been living off of frozen vegetables and birds they had killed in the fields. Migrant Mother is an iconic black and white image and a striking one at that. Lange photographed people from all walks of life including people in Japanese internment camps.

Lange was able, to sum up, the Great Depression in a single image.

Here are some famous photographers who specifically focus on weddings!

11. Elizabeth Messina

Elizabeth resides in NYC and is known for her dreamy wedding photography. She prides her work in its’ uniqueness, saying that she doesn’t get caught up in the latest photography trends. She absolutely captures each wedding’s true nature, often using film.

famous wedding photographers

“I am enamoured with the rituals at weddings. I am often moved personally when I see a couple kiss for the first time after exchanging vows or during the first dance. These sweet moments in life are treasures. In the end, I think the wedding industry chose me.”

12. Chrisman Studios

Chrisman Studios is comprised of four best photographers and one videographer, based in Charleston, NC and San Fransisco, CA. The were voted one of the top 10 wedding photographers in the world, by American Photo Magazine. Their destination wedding photographs are known for their color, vibrancy and overall JOY they capture in every setting!

13. Jose Villa

Jose was named one of the top weddings photographers by Harper’s Bizarre, Martha Stewart Weddings, Vogue and Style Me Pretty. He is a fine art wedding photography known for his wispy, elegant style to capture a decisive moment.

“My approach applies fine art photography to the living, breathing, fast-moving phenomenon that is a wedding. For me, it is all about making something beautiful. Ultimately, my goal is to craft vibrant, energetic, fine art images that are as unique as the people in the photographs.”

14. Jeremy Chou

Jeremy is based in Pasadena, California and actually went to school for architecture! After realizing that he didn’t want to be stuck behind a desk all day, he bought his first DSLR. He is truly passionate about his work, which is reflected in all of his amazing photographs.

Jeremy has photographed weddings around the world, and has been featured in all the major US wedding blogs. He was recently named Film Photographer of the year, by acclaimed Belle Lumiere Wedding Magazine

15. Roberto Valenzuela

Roberto is known for his romantic, timeless and elegant wedding photography and is currently sponsored by Canon. He has earned countless awards throughout his expansive career, and has been featured in popular magazines like Cosmopolitan Bride magazine, Rangefinder, and Professional Photographers of America magazine.

famous wedding photographers

16. Sam Hurd

Sam is located in Washington, DC and artistic style and creativity. “You’re not going to read about any awards, badges, or “top 10 lists” because what matters is you’re in love with the work that you see and are ready to trust me entirely to do what I do.

This trust drives me to find the perfect balance between creative experimentation and honest documentation.” You can check out his work here!

famous wedding photographers

17. Daniel Kim

Daniel Kim is a wedding and portrait photographer. Although Daniel may not be known as a famous portrait photographer yet, he is definitely a pro! He graduated with a fine art degree from Arizona State University and it shows in his commercial work.

He is a mixed digital and film photographer and shoots medium format color film. Kim uses a style of photography that involves purposefully overexposing the film. Color film is more forgiving than a digital sensor.

Therefore you can purposefully overexpose film within reason, and end up with beautiful results. Another interesting aspect of his work is that he develops and scans at home. By developing and scanning from his home studio it allows Daniel to control every aspect of this process.

Over the years this has resulted in beautifully crafted images that are the exact tone and color that Kim is looking for.

If you shoot film I strongly recommend that you try this process out at least once. By changing your light meter to a different film speed than you are shooting you can trick your camera.

So if you want to overexpose 400 ISO film set your camera to meter at 100 ISO. By doing this you will overexpose your film in the camera. You can also tell the lab who is developing for you that you want to push your film 1 or 2 stops. They will expose the film for a longer time and you will get similar results. If you get this right I promise the results are amazing.

Famous wedding photographers

famous photographers
By overexposing his film Kim creates a bright and airy look to his photographs.

18. Christian Oth

Christian is known for his specialty work with light and unique angles. He is well known for his editorial style that combines both elegance and authenticity. His aim is to “capture the dynamic and intimate emotions between the couple on their wedding day.” He has shot weddings from NYC to Paris.

19. Greg Finck

Greg was recently voted one of the top photographers by Harper’s Bizarre! His elegant work stands out because he shoots primarily in film.

When asked about notable weddings, he mentioned one that hasn’t even taken place, which shows that creative work is never done!

“Right now, the wedding that stands out to me is one that has yet to happen. It will be taking place at Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, where Eva Longoria and Tony Parker got married a few years ago. The bride has chosen a bespoke haute-couture gown that she is creating with the designer in Paris.

Recently, we all realized that the final dress is actually going to be twice the weight of the bride herself which will present some serious challenges during the day, especially for the couple’s photos in Paris. But–I can’t wait for it, as it’s going to be an amazing wedding! ”

What about famous photographers specializing in nature and landscapes?

20. Larry Beard

famous nature photographer

Larry Beard originates from San Clemente, California, and started his passion for photography, specifically ocean photography, as a surfer at the ripe age of 16. He is known for his wave and macro photography from beaches across the world. Larry is also a contributor to NG, and sells his pieces through his fine art gallery. Trust me, guys, his work is AMAZING in person!

21. Frans Lanting

Frans Lanting works in many different parts of the world including the South America, Africa and Antartica. His photographs are regularly published in NG, where he was a staff photographer. He currently lives in Santa Cruz, California and continues to work all over the world.

famous nature photographer

22. Peter Lik

Peter Lik is known for his work with his panoramic photography that he prints on metallic silver-halide paper, to give a unique glow. Back in 2010, he sold a print for $1 million to an anonymous buyer, which is the 11th highest grossing print sale in history.  He currently has galleries all over the world. Guys, GO check out his work. It’s AMAZING in person, his pieces radiate.

Here are some famous portrait photographers, past and present!

23. Phillppe Halsman

famous photographers

Phillppe is a very well known portrait photographer for his work during the 1940’s. He still holds the record of having more covers of LIFE magazine, than any other photographer. He had a life long friendship with the famous artist Salvador Dali, and they collaborated on many projects together. His portrait photography work is creative, innovative, and thought provoking.

Phillppe photographed famous artists and actors like Marilyn Monroe, to political and writer Winston Churchill, to acclaimed director Alfred Hitchcock, to the famed scientist, Albert Einstein. He clearly had a sense of humor if you browse his body of work!

24. Mihaela Noroc

Mihaela is becoming internationally well known for her project, “The Atlas of Beauty.” Mihaela, from Bucharest, Romania, has spent the last four years traveling the world and capturing stunning images of women. Her goal is to create connection among normal women with extraordinary stories.

famous portrait photographers

And finally, here are some famous photojournalists!

25. Margaret Bourke-White

Margaret Bourke-White was the first American female war photojournalist, the first woman hired by LIFE magazine in 1936. As a war photographer, she was the first female war correspondent during world war II and traveled with General Patton at the end of the world war.

She is best known for her work as the very first foreign photographer allowed to take photograph the Soviet Five-Year Plan. Later, she became involved in the ongoing conflict in India, where she captured her famous portrait of Mohandas Gandhi.

Famous photojournalists

26. Chris Hondors

Chris, and American born photojournalist, is most known for his war photography. He was a two time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography. He was made famous for his work in Iraq during 2005, when he captured images of the carnage of war. Chris was killed in Libya while photographing Libyan Civil War in 2011.

Famous photojournalists


I hope that these famous photographers can provide inspiration and a jumping off point for your work. A theme that I see in all of these photographers is the ability to show the world things that they would not have seen otherwise.

Photography is so important because it has the ability to do that. It is a very important medium that the world relies on and shapes peoples ideas and understanding. Remember that the next time you take a picture and know that what you are doing is important.

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