Most Influential Photographers in History

There is great debate over who the most influential photographers in history are. Although in terms of art, photography is still a relatively new art form, there have already been enough photographic masters to fill volumes in the last two centuries. That being said, there are a few photographers who stand out as the most influential. Here is a list of some of the most influential photographers in history:

William Henry Fox Talbot: Mr. Talbot was one of the first masters in the field, having published his first account of photography in 1839. Talbot greatly influenced those who came after him with his book, The Pencil of Nature.

Matthew B. Brady: Born in 1822, Brady was a pioneer of photography who recorded many of the most well known images of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.

Alfred Stieglitz: In the 1890s Stieglitz became active in the camera club movement and edited Camera Notes and later Camera Work, publishing photo-gravure plates. His greatest achievements were promoting photography so it was recognized as a fine art.

Ansel Adams: This famous photographer is best known for his black and white pictures of the great outdoors in the western United States in the 1930s and 1940s, particularly of Yosemite National Park and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Margaret Bourke-White: She never let danger get in the way of her art. Bourke-White's most influential photos include scenes of breadlines during the Great Depression, concentration camp survivors of World War II, Gandhi just a few hours before he was assassinated and many more.

Diane Arbus: This famous female photographer of the 1960s and 1970s was passionate about revealing the darker sides of society through her work. Her subjects included midgets, tattooed men, circus freaks and other individuals considered out of the mainstream.

Annie Leibovitz: An American photographer known for her work in the entertainment industry, Ms. Leibovitz has been producing provocative and well-known photographs in magazines such as Rolling Stone, Time and Vanity Fair for decades.

John Shaw: He's shot photos all over the world for Audubon, National Geographic, National Wildlife, Nature's Best, Outdoor Photographer and many other publications from the late 20th century until the present.