Ansel Adams was a famous American landscape photographer born in 1902 in San Francisco. He is known for developing the Zone System to determine exposures and adjust photo contrast. His black and white photos mainly focused on landscapes like rivers, lakes, mountains and fields. Adams died in 1984.

1. Master of Photography:
Born:
Ansel Adams
Famous For:
B&W or Color:
April 22, 1984
developed the Zone System as a way to determine
exposure and adjust the contrast of the final product.
Type of Photography:
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Died:
February 20, 1902
Landscape
Black and white
Biographical Information:
Adams was born in San Francisco, California. One of his earliest
childhood memories was watching the remains of his city burn due to
the destruction from an earthquake. He was frequently sick as a child,
and had few friends, but he took to exploring nature and collecting bugs,
as he had no patience for sports or games. Later, he developed an
interest in photography and while his father approved and encouraged it,
his mother did not. After her death, he chose the cheapest casket as he
could find for her.
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Description of Work:
His work is mainly based around landscapes. Rivers, lakes, mountains,
and fields seemed to be his main focus. Most of his photos are black and
white.
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2. Master of Photography:
Born:
Mathew Brady
Died:
1822
Famous For:
Father of photojournalism
Type of Photography:
B&W or Color:
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January 15, 1896
Portraits
Black and white
Biographical Information:
Brady was born in Warren County, New York, and was the youngest of three
children. At the age of sixteen, he moved to Saratoga, New York where he met
and studied painting under William Page. Brady met Page’s teacher, Samuel F.
B. Morse, and became his first photography student. Brady later opened his
own studio in Washington D.C. and became the creator of the first modern
advertisement. He continued on to document the Civil War. Later in life, he
took out bankruptcy and died poor, his funeral paid for by the veterans of the
7th New York infantry.
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Description of Work:
His Civil War photography consisted heavily of pictures of the aftermath of
war. Dead bodies, mostly. He also photographed the men in the army. Brady
also photographed the men when they were living their lives normally while
stationed wherever it is they are.
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3. Master of Photography:
Born:
Julia Margaret Cameron
Died:
11 June 1815
Famous For:
Using biblical/heroic/etc themes
Type of Photography:
B&W or Color:
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26 January 1879
Portrait
Black and white
Biographical Information:
Cameron was born in Calcutta, India and was considered the ugly duckling of
the family when compared with her sisters. She studied in France, but later
moved back to India, where she married a man twenty years her senior. They
later moved to England, then decided to buy property on the Isle of Wright
after visiting the island and falling in love with the area.
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Description of Work:
Cameron’s photography consisted of only closely cropped, soft-focused
portraits. She mainly used her neighbors and friends as models, but also
used famous people such as Charles Darwin.
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4. Master of Photography:
Born:
Alfred Stieglitz
Famous For:
B&W or Color:
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July 13, 1946
Made photography an accepted form of art
Type of Photography:
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Died:
January 1, 1864
Portrait
Black and white
Biographical Information:
Stieglitz was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, and was the oldest child. For
school, he studied at the best private school in New York, but found that his
studies didn’t challenge him enough. His father decided that the best for
young Stieglitz was to send him to a school in Germany, yet, the studies still
didn’t phase him. After he finished his studies in Germany, he decided to study
mechanical engineering in college. He still wasn’t satisfied with the
educational discussions around town, so he enrolled in a chemistry class
taught by scientist and photography researcher Hermann Wilhelm Vogel. This
is when Stieglitz was introduced to the idea of making art out of nature. After
pursuing his travels in search of art, he refused to sell any of his photographs.
Eventually he was pushed into marrying someone, so he married a woman,
Emmy, even though he didn’t love her. He did it for financial reasons. Years
later, he cheated on her with Georgia O’Keeffe, eventually divorcing Emmy
and marrying O’Keeffe almost instantly. Many years later, Stieglitz died of a
fatal stroke.
Description of Work:
Stieglitz had an odd obsession with taking pictures of his wife, Georgia
O’Keeffe. Many pictures of her were nude. He also enjoyed taking pictures of
her hands.
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5. Master of Photography:
Born:
W. Eugene Smith
Famous For:
B&W or Color:
October 15, 1978
Graphic WWII photos and refused to compromise
professional standards
Type of Photography:
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Died:
December 30, 1918
Candid documentary
Black and white
Biographical Information:
Smith was born in Wichita, Kansas, and after graduating high school, he took
employment in photojournalism with two local newspapers. He later worked
for Newsweek, but was fired for refusing to use a specific camera. Smith then
worked for Life Magazine, where he was injured while shooting photos at the
Pacific theater of WWII. After recovering, he went out again to take photos of
the war and was struck with a mortar. Again, he recovered and went out
again, and this time was attacked in an attempt to stop the spread of the truth
behind a certain disease that people didn’t want the world to know about.
Smith later died of a massive stroke due to his prolonged use of
amphetamines and alcohol.
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Description of Work:
Smith’s work exposed the horrors of life during WWII. Much of his work
examines the aftermath of battles during WWII and often showed dead bodies
and utter destruction. He did a series of photographs while in Japan that
would later expose Minatama disease and the terrifying effects of the disease.
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6. Master of Photography:
Born:
Dorothea Lange
Died:
May 26, 1895
Famous For:
Development of documentary photography
Type of Photography:
B&W or Color:
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October 11, 1965
documentary
Black and white
Biographical Information:
Lange was born in Hoboken, New Jersey and had two traumatic childhood
incidents: her father abandoned her and her family, and she contracted polio,
which left her with a permanent limp. When she got older, she studied
photography at Cambridge University in New York. She later moved to San
Francisco, California and opened her own studio, married, and had two sons.
Years later she divorced him and remarried another man. She started to focus
the subject of her photography on the Great Depression and those affected by
it. Her photos led to employment with the Farm Security Association. Lange’s
work revolving around the Great Depression brought a lot of attention to the
homeless. Later in life, Lange co-founded Aperture magazine. She died in 1965
due to multiple health problems.
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Description of Work:
Lange’s work exposed to everyday lives of those affected by the Great
Depression. Each of her photos had a story behind it. The photos are detailed
and express a lot of emotion.
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7. Master of Photography:
Born:
Alexander Rodchenko
Famous For:
B&W or Color:
December 3,
1956
Known as the founder of constructivism and Russian
design.
Type of Photography:
Sample Image
Died:
December 5, 1891
Portrait
Black and white
Biographical Information:
Rodchenko was born to a working class family in St. Petersburg, Russia,
but moved to Kazan after his father died in 1909. Rodchenko had no
experience or exposure to the art world prior to starting his career in art
and in the beginning, his inspiration came mainly from art magazines
he’d had. His art career started off with abstract paintings, then shifted to
graphic designing and photography, and finally, filmmaking. He had
multiple careers in art and design, and died in Moscow.
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Description of Work:
Photos are taken at odd angles. He uses diagonal composition in his work.
Rodchenko also enjoyed taking pictures of parades and sports.
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8. Master of Photography:
Born:
Robert Frank
Famous For:
The Americans
Type of Photography:
B&W or Color:
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Died:
November 9, 1924
Candid
Black and white
Biographical Information:
Frank was born into a wealthy Jewish family in Switzerland. The threat
of Nazism was high, and to escape the confines of his home and the
impending terror of Nazis, Frank turned to photography to keep him
sane. Most of his published work were handmade books exposing the
everyday lives of people in different areas. His most famous book is The
Americans.
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Description of Work:
His works consisted heavily of candid photos of people around different
cities. He took pictures of people and buildings, but mainly of people.
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9. Master of Photography:
Born:
Lennart Nilsson
Famous For:
Macro photography of conception and the
developmental process of embryos in the womb.
Type of Photography:
B&W or Color:
Sample Image
Died:
August 24, 1922
Macro
Color
Biographical Information:
Nilsson was born in Sweden to a father who was a photographer. At the
age of twelve, Nilsson’s father gave him a camera, and at the age of
fifteen he started to become interested in microscopy. He started his
photography career as a freelance photographer and even had many
pictures published in a book. Eventually he started to experiment with
close up photography. His most famous photography are photos of what
look like live embryos, but were, in fact, aborted fetuses.
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Description of Work:
A lot of his photography involved microscopic images of unborn/aborted
fetuses. He also took photos of blood vessels. His freelance photography
revolved around famous Swedes.
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10. Master of Photography:
Born:
Annie Leibovitz
Famous For:
Portrait Photos of celebrities.
Type of Photography:
B&W or Color:
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Died:
October 2, 1949
Portraits
Both
Biographical Information:
Leibowitz was born in Waterbury, Connecticut and at the age of 21, took
a job with Rolling Stones magazine. Ten years later she started working
with Vanity Fair magazine. She is known for her exceptional work with
portrait photography. One photo she took was of John Lennon, hours
before his death. She is also known for her work in advertising
campaigns.
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Description of Work:
Leibowitz’s work focuses main focus is on expressive portrait
photography. She uses a lot of odd poses. Another project she has done
is a series of photos taken as if they were scenes from a Disney movie.
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11. Master of Photography:
Born:
Richard Avedon
Died:
May 15, 1923
Famous For:
Fashion and Celebrity photography
Type of Photography:
B&W or Color:
Sample Image
October 1, 2004
Minimalist portraits
Black and white
Biographical Information:
Avedon was born to a Jewish family in New York. His mother’s family
owned a dress making factory, and this sparked his interest in fashion
photography at a young age. He was part of the Young Men’s Hebrew
Association Camera Club at the age of twelve. Avedon’s first subject in
his photography was his sister.
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Description of Work:
His work is expressive and shows a lot of emotion. To get these
expressions out of his models, he would often times ask them deep
psychological questions or have uncomfortable conversations with them.
Avedon’s works are simple, yet they show a lot. He used minimalism by
sitting his subjects in front of a plain white back drop.
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12. Master of Photography:
Born:
Jerry Uelsmann
Died:
June 11, 1934
Famous For:
Introduced photomontages
Type of Photography:
B&W or Color:
Sample Image
Photomontage
Black and white
Biographical Information:
Uelsmann was born in Detroit, Michigan, and developed a strong
interest in photography at the age of fourteen. He struggled in school,
but still managed to get a few jobs. After college, he taught at the
University of Florida. Even though with the technology there is today,
Uelsmann prefers to create these beautiful photomontages with his
traditional equipment.
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Description of Work:
Uelsmann’s work is comprised of photomontages created solely with
traditional equipment and a darkroom. A lot of his work involves nature.
The main focus of the work is usually centered.
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