Photography is the art style of having someone’s photograph taken or a painting made known by famous portrait photographers. And it has prevailed through generations and continues to push boundaries till this modern age.
In the days, portraits grew to be a driving force in the creative world. However, the earliest evidence of portrait painting dates back to ancient Greece and Egypt. But, of course, like almost everything else that technology revolutionized over the years, this was no different.
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The invention of cameras shook the creative industry as we witnessed paintings evolve into photographs. From the famous “Mona Lisa” to the viral “Afghan Girl,” portraits helped transform expressionism into the current form we see today.
Nowadays, celebrities, business people, and even the general public have branched out into different genres, allowing all kinds of people to dabble in the art.
Photographs have been one of the essential inventions throughout time. Not only for their artistic values but also for their contribution to preserving memory and history by providing a means of recording the portraits of famous historical figures and events.
The skill of photography has transcended its purpose of being just for art to play a huge role in showcasing issues and real problems that haunt us today.
Moreover, modern portrayals have proved to be the perfect medium for these kinds of themes. And artists who are professional portrait photographers can capture this notion excellently. The absolute talent found around the globe who take contemporary and celebrity portrait photography is immeasurable.
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Top 20 Famous Portrait Photographers
1. Nadav Kander
Location: London, UK
Website: www.nadavkander.com
Kander is a celebrity portrait photographer based in London. He grew up in South Africa, and his love for photography started at a young age and led him to study it for decades. Moreover, his name is prolific for taking portraits and landscapes, enrapturing the subject’s beauty in its purest form. Also, his amazing shots include great personalities like former President Barack Obama, President Joe Biden, and Eugene Kang.
2. Eric Lafforgue
Location: France
Website: www.ericlafforgue.com
This Frenchman has traveled worldwide, and his captures are testaments to those stories by themselves. His fascination with the world’s hidden and isolated areas is what makes his collection tremendous. Lafforgue’s pictures carry out a beautiful job of expressing differences and similarities between cultures and countries.
3. Dmitry Ageev
Location: Russia
Website: Couldn’t find. Here his Instagram
This young and upcoming gifted photographer is from Russia. Dmitry’s fantastic way of capturing emotion through expression is unique and genuinely thought-provoking. Also, he is on his way quickly to being recognized as the best portrait photographer for modern art.
4. Dan Winters
Location: USA
Website: www.danwintersphoto.com
Winters is an American artist and is famous for his iconic celebrity portrait photography. And the vast number of topics his photographs left up to interpretation. He took the most prominent faces behind his lens. Some of them are Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Dthe alai Lama, Barack Obama, Tupac Shakur, and many more.
5. Richard Avedon
Location: USA
Website: www.avedonfoundation.org
Undoubtedly, Avedon was a legendary photographer throughout his life. His striving to go beyond the norm is something that inspires photographers. He specialized in capturing movement in pictures rather than capturing the professional portrait-esque photography style. However, that style was trending during his time. Nevertheless, his unique vision was significant to this art form for famous portrait photographers of the 21st century and stylized photographs.
6. Cindy Sherman
Location: USA
Website: Couldn’t find. Here is the bio and works.
Cindy Sherman’s masterful work is one of the biggest influences in the world of modern photography. Her deceptively illustrated photos and shots redefining the perception of beauty got vast popularity. It makes her stand out amongst the many other photographers in the industry. Her series called “Untitled Film Stills” changed the game, and two of her pieces are on the list of the most expensive photographs in the world.
7. Brian Griffin
Location: UK
Website: Could not find.
Titled ‘photographer of the decade” by The Guardian for his outstanding work on famous musicians in the 80’s. After that, Britain’s gift to the world of portraiture is Brian Griffin. Additionally, He was said to be the first to establish a style of photography called “Capitalist Realism,” with photographs consisting of symbolic imagery and inspiration from Renaissance art. He has also worked on superstars like Helen Mirren and Jonathan Ross as a honed professional portrait photographer.
8. Annie Leibovitz
Location: USA
Website: Couldn’t find. Here is the bio and works.
This 71-year-old American is one of the best portrait photographers ruling the scene today. She is best known for her intensely emotional and personal celebrity portrait photography. She infamously captured the last image of John Lennon and Yoko Ono before his death.
9. Erik Almas
Location: Norway
Website: www.erikalmas.com
Almas is a Norwegian photographer with his work being beautiful and conceptualist and a depiction of portraits. With his ability to utilize lighting combined with his vision, Almas’s images are thematic and moody, no doubt to set an ambiance for the viewer.
10. Martin Schoeller
Location: New York, USA
Website: www.martinschoeller.com
Work consisting mainly of close-ups, Schoeller’s signature is simple but effective. His pictures of his subjects are so detailed that they give his style a subtle feeling of depth. From prominent political figures to celebrities, he has worked on Bill Clinton, Sting, Heath Ledger, and numerous others to capture a face for history to remember.
11. David LaChapelle
Location: USA
Website: www.lachapellestudio.com
LaChapelle’s splashes of bright colors and integration of pop art into his pictures, along with religious and historical imagery, are unique to him. He is famous and praised for his commercial and celebrity portrait photography for stars such as Angelina Jolie and Amanda Lepore.
12. Steve McCurry
Location: USA
Website: www.stevemccurry.com
With over a dozen books, McCurry is an iconic and one of the best photographers we have ever seen. His portrait of a girl in Afghanistan with piercing emerald eyes, famously known as “Afghan Girl,” has been cited as one of the most important captures in the history of photography. In addition, his many pieces for National Geographic and Indian culture took the modern industry by storm and will continue to leave a mark on future artists.
13. Lisa Kristine
Location: USA
Website: www.lisakristine.com
Humanitarian Lisa Kristine’s eye-opening shots give the viewer a dose of the reality of so many people worldwide. Her work on unraveling slavery in this modern day and displaying the beautiful culture of indigenous people around the world is probably some of the best of her collection and the industry.
14. Rehahn
Location: Hoi An, Vietnam
Website: www.rehahnphotographer.com
Next up on the list is the second artist from France credited as the portrait photographer who “captures souls.” Rehahn’s fascination and adoration of Vietnam led him to his success. Also, he completed his mission of capturing every group of tribal people in their traditional environment and displayed them in his gallery to appreciate and preserve their culture. He has moved to Vietnam and lives in Hoi An in Vietnam.
15. Robert Mapplethorpe
Location: USA
Website: www.mapplethorpe.org
“To make pictures big is to make them more powerful.” – Robert Mapplethorpe
He is best known for his black and white style portraits and photographs of controversial subjects under much scrutiny from the 1960s to the 1980s. Robert Mapplethorpe was big on using different techniques and collages for artistic effect. His most famous works were celebrity portrait photography and still life, symbolizing the classical perception of beauty.
16. Peter Hapak
Location: New York, USA
Website: www.peterhapak.com
This American photographer has taken portraits of some of the biggest names on TV and in Hollywood. Thus, a few of them, namely Nicole Kidman, Timothee Chalamet, Roger Federer, etc. He has also worked with huge companies like Netflix, GQ, Time, Vanity Fair, etc. His extraordinary pieces rely on a minimalistic setting and tone, making his shots all the more alluring. Hapak mentions in one of his interviews that while it may seem simple, the process of preparation is very complex and crucial.
17. Platon
Location: New York, USA
Website: www.platonphoto.com
One more addition to British talent. Platon has trademarked his iconic style in the industry over the years, and it shows how much so, as his works are so easily recognizable. With the use of simple lighting and technique in his close-up portraits, Platon manages to beautifully bring out emotions through expressions. Also, his photographs have the same white background with a black-and-white style.
18. Pieter Hugo
Location: South Africa
Website: www.pieterhugo.com
This 44-year-old South African portrait photographer is a prominent name in the contemporary genre of this art style. He has symbolized social issues such as privilege, class, and violence with his captures. However, they displayed his shots in major art galleries, and his books received significant attention.
19. Sebastião Salgado
Location: Brazil
Website: www.institutoterra.org
Salgado is a photojournalist from Brazil. He gained acclaim due to his documentation of poor and helpless people. His experience of having traveled to over 100 countries helped him sympathize with these people better and capture harrowing shots of reality. He is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF and has also received many honorable awards for his outstanding work.
20. Mario Testino
Location: Peru
Website: www.mariotestino.com
Finally, the last artist on our list is this brilliant Peruvian photographer, most famous for his portraits and fashion photography. His fantastic shots capture luxury most naturally. Additionally, this skill set has enabled him to work with fashion giants such as Vogue and Vanity Fair, as well as with brands like Gucci, Chanel, and Versace.
Final Thought
While this list covers only a fraction of the magnificent artists, it offers insight into some of the best photographers who helped shape this art form into the popular trend it is today.
As a result, modern portrait pictures are recognized by the general public nowadays. In turn, it has started an onset of professional portrait studios to set up, which is tremendously helping aspiring photographers.
However, one thing’s for sure: modern portrait photographers are constantly testing the limits of this art style. They are helping to dissolve the divide between contemporary and pop culture art and integrate it with beautiful storytelling.
