German-born Jewish American photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt began taking photos at age 14 and became a freelance photographer in Berlin in the 1920s. In the 1930s, he photographed important political figures like Hitler and Mussolini. In 1936, he became one of the first four staff photographers for LIFE magazine, where he worked until 1972 and took over 90 iconic cover photos. Some of his most famous photos include a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square on VJ Day in 1945 and a drum major surrounded by children in 1950. Eisenstaedt was renowned for his ability to capture authentic human emotions in the moment.

1. LIFE Photojournalist

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German-born Jewish American
photojournalist
Began taking photos at age 14
Served in German army during WWI
Freelance photographer for Pacific and
Atlantic Photos’ Berlin office (later taken over
by the Associated Press)

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Became a full-time
photographer in 1929
Notable early photos:
 Hitler and Mussolini
 Waiter on Ice Skates
 Joseph Goebbels
In London, 1932 (age 34)

4. Hitler and Mussolini

5. Waiter on Ice Skates

6. “In 1933, I traveled to Lausanne and
Geneva for the fifteenth session of the
League of Nations. There, sitting in the
hotel garden, was Dr. Joseph Goebbels,
Hitler’s minister of propaganda. He
smiles, but not at me. He was looking at
someone to my left…. Suddenly he
spotted me and I snapped him. His
expression changed. Here are the eyes of
hate. Was I an enemy? Behind him is his
private secretary, Walter Naumann, with
the goatee, and Hitler’s interpreter, Dr.
Paul Schmidt…. I have been asked how I
felt photographing these men. Naturally,
not so good, but when I have a camera in
my hand I know no fear.”
– Alfred Eisenstadt

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Brooklyn, New York
One of the first four staff photographers for
LIFE magazine (1936-72)
 The others were Margaret Bourke-White, Thomas
McAvoy and Peter Stackpole
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Stayed on staff until the magazine closed in
1972
90 covers

9. “Once she achieved a certain level
of fame, gossip columnists began
writing about Cynthia as if she were
a living, breathing socialite. When
partygoers tried to engage the
mannequin in conversation, Gaba
begged off by claiming she was
suffering from a touch of
laryngitis.”

11. “Maybe, just maybe, we’re all dummies.” –Life.com

16. VJ day, 1945
Eisenstaedt saw a sailor running
around Times Square trying to grab
any girl in sight…and thus an iconic
photo was snapped

17. The drum major for the University of Michigan
marching band rehearses as admiring children fall in
line, 1950.
“Like so many of Alfred Eisenstaedt’s most famous photographs, this one flirts with
sentimentality — but avoids that ignoble fate by virtue of its energy, and its immediacy. This
is not a depiction of manufactured emotion, but a masterfully framed instant of authentic,
explosive spirit.”
-Ben Cosgrove,Editor of LIFE.com

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PBS Documentary
The “quintessential” Life photographer –
NYTimes obituary
Awards/honors:
 Presidential Medal of Arts
 Infinity Master of Photography Award, given by
the International Center of Photography
 1951 "Photographer of the Year" by the
Encyclopedia Britannica and the University of
Missouri School of Journalism

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Documentary
Humanity
Culture
Emotions
 Line/geometry
 High contrast
 Black and white
1938, County Fair