Famous German Photographers

Leni Riefenstahl was a German film director and actress best remembered for her role in producing Nazi propaganda. She made her directorial debut in 1932, becoming one of the few women to direct a movie during the Weimar Period. Riefenstahl is credited with directing two of the most technically innovative propaganda films of all time, Olympia and Triumph des Willens.

Helmut Newton was a German-American photographer whose works earned him accolades all over the world. His photographs were featured on popular fashion magazines like Harper's Bazaar and Vogue. He also worked closely with Playboy, shooting several pictorials of models like Kristine DeBell and Nastassja Kinski.

Alfred Eisenstaedt was a German-born American photojournalist and photographer who achieved popularity as a photographer for Life magazine. Remembered for capturing memorable images, Eisenstaedt is credited with capturing the V-J Day in Times Square, which became one of his most popular cover photographs. In 1989, he was honored with the prestigious National Medal of Arts.

Gerda Taro was a German Jewish war photographer who was active during the Spanish Civil War. As a young woman, she became interested in Leftist politics. She then became involved with photographer Robert Capa and began her own career in photojournalism. She died in 1937 while covering the frontline during the Spanish Civil War.  

Known for his blatant use of digital manipulation and unique compositional strategies, Andreas Gursky is one of the most pricey, yet bestselling photographers of our time, with his best known work, Rhein II, fetching $4.3 million in 2011.  The first to produce large prints, measuring 6 × 8 feet or more, he also taught fine arts at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf.

German photographer Gisela Getty is known as an icon of the ’68 movement. She; her boyfriend, J. Paul Getty III; and her sister, Jutta, had once shared a bed, as a "threesome." She made headlines when she got married to Paul after he was released following a scandalous abduction.

Astrid Kirchherr was a German photographer and artist who was famous for the photographs she took of the original band members of the Beatles. She wanted to study fashion designing as a young woman but shifted to photography at the recommendation of a teacher. She later became acquainted with the Beatles and took several iconic photographs of them. 

Professionally known as Ulay, German artist Frank Uwe Laysiepen began his career in Amsterdam as a photographer for Polaroid, clicking photos across Europe and USA. Later he also took up performing arts, collaborating with his then-companion Marina Abramović, creating numerous pieces, including the Relation Series. After their breakup, he continued with his performing art while concurrently with experimenting with his camera.

Apart from being the only female member of the Berlin Dada group, German artist Hannah Höch was also the pioneer of the photomontage form of art. Her works explored the sexually and financially independent New Woman and challenged gender stereotypes. She also experimented with textiles and patterns.

Gunter Sachs was a German author, photographer, and industrialist. The third husband of Brigitte Bardot, Sachs attained international recognition as a documentary photographer and documentary filmmaker. An art collector and close friend of Andy Warhol, Gunter Sachs is credited with organizing Warhol's first European exhibition.

Best remembered as a fashion photographer, Peter Lindbergh was also a successful film director, credited with several films and documentaries. Also known for creating covers for several music albums, he began his career as an assistant to photographer Hans Lux before opening his own studio and joining Stem Magazine. His works have been displayed in several exhibitions across the world.

Karl Blossfeldt was a German photographer, artist, sculptor, and teacher. He is best remembered for his work Urformen der Kunst, a collection of close-up photos of animals and plants. The book became highly influential and Blossfeldt's works were used as teaching tools in Berlin. Blossfeldt also served as a professor at the United State Schools for Fine and Applied Art. 

Horst P. Horst was a fashion photographer best remembered for his association with Vogue magazine. He is credited with capturing The Mainbocher Corset, one of the 20th century's iconic photos. Horst P. Horst is also remembered for photographing some of the most popular personalities like Harry S. Truman, Bette Davis, Noël Coward, and Marlene Dietrich.

Wolfgang Tillmans is a German photographer best known for his diverse body of work. A highly acclaimed photographer, Tillmans has won many awards, such as the Hasselblad Award. In 2000, Wolfgang Tillmans became the first photographer and the first non-British person to be honored with the prestigious Turner Prize.

John Heartfield was a German visual artist. He is credited to have pioneered the use of art as a political weapon. He used photomontages to satirize Adolf Hitler and depict his anti-Nazi and anti-fascist sentiments. He studied at the Royal Bavarian Arts and Crafts School and went on to launch a publishing house, Malik-Verlag, with his brother.  

Margret Nissen is a German photographer and daughter of German architect Albert Speer. Best known for her architectural photography skills, Nissen's works have been widely exhibited in Berlin since 1980. Margret Nissen is also a writer; in 2004, she wrote a book about her father titled Sind Sie die Tochter Speer?

Bernd Becher was a German photographer and conceptual artist. He was one half of the popular Bernd and Hilla Becher duo. Bernd and his wife Hilla are credited with founding the Becher School, which influenced generations of artists and documentary photographers. The duo was honored with several prestigious awards, such as the Erasmus Prize and the Hasselblad Award.

Ellen von Unwerth is a German photographer best known for her feminist approach to photography. A former fashion model, Von Unwerth makes fashion, advertising, and editorial photographs. She is Renowned for portraying women's sexuality without objectifying her models. Apart from publishing her photographs in popular magazines, Von Unwerth also directs short films for fashion designers and commercials for famous brands.

Sigmar Polke was a German photographer and painter who experimented with several styles, materials, and subject matters. He is credited with founding Capitalist realism, an art movement that focuses on commodity-based art. He is also credited with developing a new technique to come up with mechanically produced paintings. Polke’s works influenced many younger artists like Julian Schnabel and Richard Prince.

Peter Berlin is a German-American artist, photographer, filmmaker, clothing designer, and model. He is best known for his gay porn film That Boy, which helped bring gay porn films much-needed artistic legitimacy. His artwork and photographs have been exhibited all over the world. His life and career have inspired a documentary film titled That Man: Peter Berlin.

Kristina Söderbaum was a Swedish-born German actress, photographer, and producer. She is best remembered for playing important roles in films that were made by the state-controlled production companies in Nazi Germany. Regarded as the quintessential Nazi star, Söderbaum portrayed the ideal Aryan woman. She later expressed regret for playing such roles. After her acting career, Söderbaum became a fashion photographer.

Thomas Ruff is a German photographer who developed his own method of conceptual serial photography. After studying photography from 1977 to 1985 at the Düsseldorf Art Academy, Ruff went on to establish himself as an acclaimed photographer. He then worked as a teacher at the Düsseldorf Art Academy, where he taught photography from 2000 to 2005.

Marianne Brandt was a German painter, photographer, sculptor, designer, and metalsmith. She is credited with designing several household objects like ashtrays, teapots, and lamps that are regarded as a paradigm of modern industrial design. After studying at the Bauhaus art school in Weimar, Marianne Brandt went on to serve as the head of the school's Metal Workshop in Dessau.

Erwin Blumenfeld was a German-born American photographer. Blumenfeld became a successful fashion photographer, working for popular magazines like American Vogue, Life, and Harper's Bazaar. Erwin Blumenfeld is best remembered for experimenting with various photographic techniques like solarization, photo-montage, multiple exposure, and distortion.

Wols was a German photographer and painter. Widely regarded as a pioneer of lyrical abstraction, Wols was one of the most important and influential personalities of the Tachisme movement. However, his works were hardly recognized and appreciated during his lifetime. Wols is also remembered for his influential book titled Aphorismes de Wols, which discusses art theory.

Heinz Stücke is a German long-distance itinerate cyclist best known for his world record-setting bicycle touring in 1995. In a journey spanning over five decades, Heinz Stücke has traveled more than six hundred thousand kilometers. Between 1962 and 2010, he visited 78 territories and 195 countries. Heinz Stücke’s name is also in the Guinness Book of Records.  

Horst Faas was a German photo-journalist remembered for capturing pictures of the Vietnam War. Faas was honored with the Pulitzer Prize for Photography twice. He also worked as a picture editor, playing a key role in the publication of two of the most controversial pictures: Saigon Execution and Napalm Girl. Faas was the recipient of the Robert Capa Gold Medal.

Ruth Bernhard was a photographer who had solo exhibitions at popular art galleries like the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Regarded as one of the greatest photographers of the nude, Ruth Bernhard was inducted into the Women's Caucus for Art in 1981. Ruth Bernhard was also honored with several prestigious awards, such as the Cyril Magnin Award.

Thomas Demand is a German photographer and sculptor who had his debut solo exhibition in 1992 at Tanit Galerie in Munich. He then went on to display his works at popular art galleries like the Museum of Modern Art, Neue Nationalgalerie, and the Irish Museum of Modern Art. In 2011, he was nominated for the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Prize.

Erich Salomon was a German news photographer remembered for his pictures in the legal profession. Salomon is also remembered for the methods that he used to acquire his photographs. Many of his pictures were taken by concealing the camera in his hat. He is one of two persons to have captured a session of the Supreme Court of the US.

Albert Renger-Patzsch was a German photographer who started capturing mind-blowing images when he was just 12 years old. Albert had his debut museum exhibition in 1927 after publishing a book titled The choir stalls of Cappenberg in 1925. In 1928, Albert Renger-Patzsch came up with his best known book Die Welt ist schön, a collection of 100 photographs.

Elsbeth Juda was a British photographer best remembered for her pioneering fashion photographs. Juda is also remembered for her work as photographer and associate editor for The Ambassador magazine, where she worked between 1940 and 1965. A portraitist, Elsbeth Juda is also credited with photographing several British artists like Henry Moore, Graham Sutherland, Sir Peter Thomas Blake, and Kenneth Armitage.

Ilse Bing was a German photographer best remembered for producing pioneering monochrome images. Many of her photographs have been displayed in popular museums like the Museum of Modern Art. In 1990, she was honored with the Women’s Caucus for Art Award. In 1993, Ilse Bing received the First Gold Medal Award for Photography.

An alumnus of State School of Photography, Munich, Helmut Erich Robert Gernsheim was a celebrated photographer, photo historian and collector. Born in Germany, he eventually moved to London, where he spent most of his life, publishing several works, collecting over 33,000 photographs, 4,000 books, research notes and correspondences, trying to establish photographic galleries and museums in the USA and Britain.

Hailed as the cofounder of the Düsseldorf School of Photography, German conceptual photographer, Hilla Becher is also credited for her efforts to start the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf's Photography department. Travelling in a Volkswagen with her husband and collaborator Bernhard Becher, she took photographs of industrial buildings and structures, often organizing them in grids and thus capturing the post-war Germany through her lenses.

Otto Steinert was a German photographer. He is credited with co-founding an avant-garde photography group called Fotoform. Apart from being a photographer, Steinert also worked as a teacher. He taught at the Folkwang Hochschule school in Essen from 1959 until his death in 1978.

Ellen Auerbach was a photographer best remembered for her work with the ringl+pit studio in Berlin, which she co-founded with Argentine photographer Grete Stern. The studio, which specialized in fashion, advertising, and portrait photography, was one of the first female-run photographic businesses in the world. 

Robert Meyer is a Norwegian art photographer, photo historian, professor, writer, collector, and publicist. He is credited with founding a publishing company named Ikaros in 1976. In 1990, he became Norway's first professor of photography when he started teaching at the National College of Art. In 1998, Robert Meyer started a private college for photography in Oslo. 

Benny Rebel is an Iranian-German photographer best known for his wildlife photography. Rebel is renowned for capturing extremely close-up pictures of dangerous animals in Africa. He also plays an important role in promoting wildlife conservation by working with non-governmental environmental organizations like Greenpeace. Benny Rebel has also appeared in several TV shows.

Hugo Erfurth was a German photographer best remembered for his portraits of cultural figures and celebrities of the early-20th century. He is credited with co-founding an exhibiting group called Gesellschaft Deutscher Lichtbildner, where he played a major role in the development of the group.

Pulitzer Prize winning German photographer, Karsten Thielker, started his career at a regional newspaper before joining Associated Press. Assigned to cover the Yugoslavian War, he soon started covering human suffering in conflict zones around the world, winning the coveted prize for his photos of a Rwanda refugee camp in Tanzania. Later, he returned to Berlin to focus on street photography.