One of the best ways to get inspired and push your creativity is to learn from the most famous photographers. They are huge rocks in the photography field which help you navigate in your work. Here are fifteen talented artists that amaze the world with their original ideas and innovations.

1. Robert Capa

2. Peter Lindbergh

Peter Lindbergh is known for his intolerance of any manipulation of digital images. In a world where photo post-processing is one of the most important keys to success, this famous photographer stands firm in his decision not to apply any retouching even to his advertising pictures.

His portrait images impress with their genuineness, sincerity and uniqueness. Peter Lindbergh has introduced a new approach to beauty: everything should be realistic and raw.

 

3. Richard Avedon

This photo artist became famous for his black and white pictures. Working in the genre of portraiture and fashion photography, Richard Avedon has become the creator of the American image of beauty, culture and style over the past fifty years.

At first, he worked for Harper’s Bazaar so he was able to open his studio. Since 1946, he photographed for such famous magazines as Life and Vogue. Avedon did not just photograph the subject, he tried to figure out how portraiture captures the soul and personality.

Being very popular and known for his talent and professionalism, he photographed many outstanding people with his large-format camera. Would like the same? Check out what are the best cameras for photography .

 

4. Annie Leibovitz

If you want to follow someone’s example in the field of commercial photography, then Annie is the one you need. Being one of the best portrait photographers, she stands out for her intimate and honest style.

Her works were published on the pages of the Rolling Stone and Vanity Fairmagazines.She presented her photos at Washington’s National Portrait Gallery (1991) while becoming the first female photographer to receive such an opportunity. Annie Leibovitz was the last one to capture Yoko Ono and John Lennon.

 

5. Dorothea Lange

Dorothea is one of the most famous photographers in the field of documentary photography and photojournalism. Modern documentary photography owes much to Dorothea Lange for its development and formation.

She began her career by photographing representatives of the social elite in her studio. However, the Great Depression influenced Dorothea and her approach to work. “Migrant Mother” is one of the most famous photographs taken by Dorothea. She expertly captured the anxieties of a mother who lives with her children in a tent.

 

6. Mario Testino

This Peruvian photographer is known for his stirring shots and portraits. His fashion photos were published in GQ, Vogue, Vanity Fair and V Magazine.

Mario became famous thanks to his picture of Princess Diana for a Vanity Fair cover story (1997). He was also an official photographer at the engagement of Diana’s elder son William and his fiancee Kate Middleton.

Testino also worked for Estée Lauder, Chanel and Gucci. He was called the "most prolific magazine and fashion trade photographer in the world" by the Observer.

 

7. Imogen Cunningham

Imogen Cunningham is one of the world famous photographers known for her industrial landscapes, nude shots and botanical pictures. She had a rare talent for perceiving natural forms, shadows and light.

Her first photographs contained some mystery around the subject being photographed. She achieved this due to blurry images and soft focus. Hands of artists and musicians were especially interesting for Imogen.

Her sharp focus photography style appeared when Cunningham turned to crisper and sharper images. Imogen belonged to Group f / 64, which was based in California. Their style was distinguished by the use of sharp focus and carefully framed photographs.

 

8. Mary Ellen Mark

Mary Ellen Mark was a versatile photographer working in many genres. The works by one of the most famous photographers include portrait and advertising pictures as well as documentary photography.

In her photographs, you can notice the incredible care and closeness to the people whom she has been capturing throughout her remarkable career.

Mary claimed that to create the right image, the photographers must have some emotional connection with their pictures.

Her photographs impress with amazing and solid composition. Her framing looks unique. Mary never used cropping. If she wanted to crop something in the frame, she did it in the process of shooting and never after.

 

9. David LaChapelle

The next position on our most famous photographers list is David LaChapelle. He is known for his fine art and commercial pictures. With the help of his photos, David tries to demonstrate crucial scenes, sent important social messages and show art history.

All of his pictures have a particular style so you can easily guess him among other photographers.

The photos are so bright and colorful that they look like paintings. David took photos of many well-known people, such as Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Whitney Houston, Miley Cyrus and so on. Fans of LaChapelle’s talent should be grateful to Andy Warhol, who spotted a gifted photographer in New York and David got work for Interview Magazine. Download one of these free photo editors to edit photos in his manner.

 

10. Sebastião Salgado

The name Sebastião Salgado is known worldwide. A photojournalist and social documentary photographer from Brazil is rightfully considered one of the most famous photography artists. Salgado creates portraits that reflect social problems at the most difficult stages of the development of modern mankind.

Throughout his half-century career, Sebastião has published many books. The most remarkable ones are Other Americas, Genesis, Workers and Terra.

He took pictures all over the world and he has set his foot in more than 120 countries. “The Salt of the Earth” is a great documentary movie devoted to Salgado’s life.

 

11. Guy Bourdin

Guy Bourdin was a talented photography artist who learned the craft all by himself. His ideas and concepts were so innovative that he was far ahead of photography tendencies of his time. Bourdin violated all the rules of fashion photography by focusing on precise compositions, hyper-real colors and surreal aesthetics. He drew inspiration from books, movies and art history.

Minimalism is also one of the characteristic features of this famous photographer. If you look at his pictures, you will notice a certain mystery created by the fragmentation of the whole body, the lack of unity of arms and legs existing as if separate from each other.

 

12. Michael Kenna

A landscape photographer, Michael Kenna, stands out for his unique black and white pictures that radiate calmness and serenity. He tends to use minimalistic composition with repeating elements.

His photos are usually taken with long exposures that allow him to get soft light in the picture. Michael Kenna avoids photographing people as he doesn’t want to distract viewers from nature. The presence of absence is a prominent trait of most of his photos.

 

13. Steve McCurry

American photojournalist Steve McCurry with his camera was a witness of many military conflicts all over the world. He took photos during the Lebanon Civil War, Iran-Iraq War and the Cambodian Civil War.

Nowadays, McCurry is one of the most famous photographers and his pictures regularly appear on the pages of top magazines. One of Steve’s most popular photographs is ‘Afghan girl’ that appeared on the National Geographic cover some time ago.

 

14. Ellen von Unwerth

Ellen pays lots of attention to women and the feminine side in her work. When she was about 20 years old, she started her modeling career.

Nearly a decade later, she decided to take up photography. Her previous fashion experience helped in her photography career.

In the 1980s, she was hired to photograph Claudia Schiffer for a Guess fashion campaign and that was a great turn in her career. After that, the best world magazines like Vanity Fair, Vogue, Interview started publishing her pictures.

Unwerth also worked for such fashion brands as Uniqlo, John Galliano, Ralph Lauren and Dior.

 

15. Henri-Cartier Bresson

Henri is one of the world famous photographers due to his mastery in candid photography. He was one of the pioneers in the use of a 35 mm film. At that time, his colleagues preferred to take pictures with the bulky and heavy medium format cameras.

His Leica was always with him. It was quick, light and allowed him to photograph even the most fleeting subjects. Henri was an innovator in the street photography genre. Besides, he did not like the flash, considered it something like a pistol in the hand during the concert.