Portrait Photographers
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Portrait photographers capture the personality of a person or group of people by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses. Know about famous portrait photographers, such as Vivian Maier, Amanda de Cadenet, Mathew Brady, Aaron Ruell, Yousuf Karsh and many more.
Vote for Your Favourite Portrait Photographers
1
Annie Leibovitz(Portrait Photographer Who is Known for Her Engaging Portraits of Celebrities in Intimate Settings)
Birthdate: October 2, 1949
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Waterbury, Connecticut, United States
Anna-Lou Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer whose career is defined by intimate photographs of celebrities, as exemplified by her famous portrait of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, hours before the English musician’s murder. The Rolling Stone magazine provided the platform for her photographic talent during the early years of her career. She was involved in a controversy over an apparent topless photo of Miley Cyrus.
2
Robert Mapplethorpe
(American Photographer Best Known for His Black-And-White Photographs)
Birthdate: November 4, 1946
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Floral Park, New York, United States
Died: March 9, 1989
Best known for his black and white photographs, Robert Mapplethorpe chose homoerotic themes to express himself. His male nudes reflected the gay BDSM subculture of New York. His works also included flowers, still lifes, and portraits of celebrities. The gay photographer-artist eventually died of aids.
Birthdate: March 7, 1930
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Belgravia
Died: January 13, 2017
From working as a photographer to becoming one of the members of the British royal family, Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon had an amazing journey. Despite being known for his marriage with Princess Margaret, he was also known for his philanthropy and charity work. He also co-designed the Snowdon Aviary, which is now part of the famous London Zoo.
4
Melissa Auf der Maur
(Canadian Musician, Photographer, and Occasional Actress)
Birthdate: March 17, 1972
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
5
Mathew Brady
(One of the Earliest Photographers in American History)
Birthdate: May 18, 1822
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Warren County, New York, United States
Died: January 15, 1896
Mathew Brady was an American photographer who captured the American Civil War through his lenses. One of the earliest photographers in the history of the US, Brady is credited with taking pictures of prominent personalities like Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, and Andrew Jackson. Dubbed the father of photojournalism, Mathew Brady was the most renowned American photographer during the 19th century.
Birthdate: January 14, 1904
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Hampstead, London, England
Died: January 18, 1980
Cecil Beaton was a British war, portrait, and fashion photographer. A multi-talented personality, Beaton is also known for his work as a painter, diarist, interior designer, and costume designer. Cecil Beaton worked with popular publications like Vogue before becoming a leading war photographer. His work as a costume designer for the theatre and films earned him Oscars and Tony Awards.
7
Amanda de Cadenet
(Photographer, Actress and Television Presenter)
Birthdate: May 19, 1972
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Hampstead, London, England
Amanda de Cadenet is an English author, photographer, and media personality. As a photographer, De Cadenet has worked for popular magazines like Harper’s Bazaar, Jane, and Spin. Amanda de Cadenet has also appeared in a couple of films like Grace of My Heart and The Rachel Papers.
8
iO Tillett Wright
(Photographer and Activist Well Known as the Co-host of MTV Documentary Series 'Suspect')
Birthdate: September 2, 1985
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States
iO Tillett Wright is an American photographer, author, activist, TV and podcast host. He is credited with founding the now-defunct international street art magazine Overspray for which he served as the editor-in-chief until 2009. His podcast The Ballad Of Billy Balls was counted among the best of 2019 and was considered for television development.
Birthdate: June 23, 1976
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Fresno, California, United States
10
Sylvia Plachy
(Hungarian-American Photographer Best Known for Weekly Pictures in 'The Village Voice')
Birthdate: May 24, 1943
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Budapest, Hungary
Born in Hungary, Sylvia Plachy fled to the US with her family after the Hungarian Revolution. Now a renowned photographer, she is mainly known for her stint with the US newsweekly The Village Voice. A Guggenheim fellow and a Lucie Award winner, she is also the mother of Oscar-winning actor Adrien Brody.
11
Lewis Hine
(American Sociologist and Muckraker Photographer Best Known for the Documentary Images of Child Labor Practices)
Birthdate: September 26, 1874
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States
Died: November 3, 1940
Lewis Hine was an American photographer and sociologist. Hine's photographs played a key role in the passage of the child labor laws in the USA. He worked with non-profit organizations like Russell Sage Foundation and National Child Labor Committee and captured the plight of several child laborers in the steel-making districts. These photographs helped enact the first child labor laws.
12
Yousuf Karsh
(Canadian Photographer)
Birthdate: December 23, 1908
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Mardin, Turkey
Died: July 13, 2002
13
Walker Evans
(Photographer and Photojournalist best known for his work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) documenting the effects of the Great Depression)
Birthdate: November 3, 1903
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Died: April 10, 1975
14
Tina Modotti
(Photographer Known for Her Symbolic Close-Ups and Images of Mexican Workers)
Birthdate: August 17, 1896
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Udine, Italy
Died: January 5, 1942
Italian-American photographer Tina Modotti was the daughter of migrant laborers in Austria. She later worked in a textile factory in Italy, before moving to the U.S., where she acted in Italian theater. Initially excelling in still lifes and portraits, she later gained fame for her signature close-ups of Mexican workers.
15
Brassaï(Photographer, Artist and Writer Known for His Dramatic Photographs of Paris at Night)
Birthdate: September 9, 1899
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Brașov, Romania
Died: July 8, 1984
Gyula Halász, or Brassaï, derived his pseudonym from the city of his birth, Brassó, then in Hungary. Later, he moved to Paris, where he began his career as a photographer. He published his works in volumes such as Paris de nuit. He was also a sculptor and a poet.
Birthdate: January 3, 1993
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Paris, France
Shanna Besson is a French photographer and actress who started her acting career at age 10 when she played a girl forced into acting by her mother in I'm an Actress, which marked the directorial debut of Besson's mother Maïwenn. Besson later established a career in film-making, working with her parents as a still photographer in films like Taken 2.
17
Duane Michals
(Photographer Known for Innovative Use of Photo-Sequences)
Birthdate: February 18, 1932
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: United States
18
James Van Der Zee
(Photographer)
Birthdate: June 29, 1886
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Lenox, Massachusetts, United States
Died: May 15, 1983
19
Malick Sidibé
(Photographer)
Birthdate: 1935 AD
Birthplace: Soloba, Mali
Died: April 14, 2016
20
Martine Franck
(Photographer)
Birthdate: April 2, 1938
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Antwerp, Belgium
Died: August 16, 2012
21
Marian Hooper Adams
(Socialite)
Birthdate: September 13, 1843
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died: December 6, 1885
22
Willy Ronis
(French photographer)
Birthdate: August 14, 1910
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: September 12, 2009
23
Erich Salomon
(German News Photographer Known for His Pictures in the Diplomatic and Legal Professions)
Birthdate: April 28, 1886
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: July 7, 1944
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.
Birthdate: May 25, 1616
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Florence, Italy
Died: January 17, 1686
25
André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri
(Photographer)
Birthdate: March 28, 1819
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Paris, France
Died: October 4, 1889
26
Charles Nègre
(Photographer)
Birthdate: May 9, 1820
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Grasse, France
Died: January 16, 1880
27
Lotte Jacobi
(American Portrait Photographer Known for Her High-Contrast Black-And-White Portrait Photography)
Birthdate: August 17, 1896
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Torun, Poland
Died: May 6, 1990
Lotte Jacobi was a photojournalist and portrait photographer. She was trained at the Bavarian State Academy of Photography and was famous for her high-contrast black-and-white portrait photography. Her subjects were both common people and high-profile figures, and she tended to delve deeper into the traits of her subjects than in traditional portraiture. She was married to publisher Erich Reiss.
Birthdate: November 12, 1925
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Berlin, Germany
Died: February 12, 1999
29
Samuel Fosso
(Photographer)
Birthdate: July 17, 1962
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Kumba, Cameroon
30
Mariana Yampolsky
(Photographer)
Birthdate: September 6, 1925
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: May 3, 2002
31
Horacio Coppola
(Photographer)
Birthdate: July 31, 1906
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died: June 18, 2012
32
Otto Steinert
(German Photographer)
Birthdate: July 12, 1915
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Saarbrücken, Germany
Died: March 3, 1978
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.
33
Bob Willoughby
(Photographer)
Birthdate: June 30, 1927
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Died: December 18, 2009
34
Jerome Liebling
(Photographer)
Birthdate: April 16, 1924
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States
Died: July 27, 2011
35
Hugo Erfurth
(German Photographer Known for His Portraits of Celebrities and Cultural Figures of the Early 20th Century)
Birthdate: October 14, 1874
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Halle, Germany
Died: February 14, 1948
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.
36
Pia Arke
(Remembered for her self-portraits and landscape photographs of Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland))
Birthdate: September 1, 1958
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland
Died: April 30, 2007
Pia Arke was a Danish visual artist, photographer, and writer. She is best remembered for creating her own life-size camera obscura which she used to photograph the landscapes of Greenland. Pia Arke is often counted among the most prominent postcolonial critics of the Nordic region.
Birthdate: July 20, 1939
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States
Died: April 29, 2016
Birthdate: November 14, 1993
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts
Birthdate: June 22, 1974
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Akron, Ohio, United States