Eve Arnold (1912 - 2012)

In 1951 Eve Arnold became the first woman to take pictures for the Magnum picture agency and continued to take realistic images, often portraying women from various levels of society.

Avedon’s portraits in the late 1950’s, characterised by their stark white backgrounds, brought him to the public eye. Avedon’s contribution to photography continued over many decades. 

Erwitt was born in Paris of Russian parents and spent his early years in Italy and Los Angeles. He studied photography at university and after leaving the army he joined Magnum after Robert Capa had reviewed his work. Erwitt's photographs are unusual, showing casual situations in an ironic and whimsical way. 

Doisneau became a full-time staff photographer for Vogue magazine in 1949, however he is most remembered for his documentary photography on the streets of Paris.

Robert Frank was born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1924 and emigrated to the United Sates in 1947. Frank was a commercial and fashion photographer. In 1955 he was awarded a Guggenheim fellowship that enabled him to travel across the United States to take a series of photographs. The book of his pictures, 'The Americans’, was first published in 1958. His radical images were bleak, finding little to celebrate in post war America. Frank's style inspired many other American photographers.

Haas was one of the outstanding pioneers of colour photography. He joined the Magnum agency in the early 1950's and during the 1960's he produced more experimental work. Haas made use of 35 mm cameras to produce pictures of outstanding technical quality and strong visual interest.

Although McBean’s photographic career started in the 1930's it was only after Work War II that he became the most prominent theatre photographer in Great Britain. His light hearted portraits often contained an element of surrealism. In the 1950's and 1960's he started to take photographs for album covers, arguably the most famous being the Beatles leaning over a balcony. 

Eddie Adams (1933 - 2004)

Adams took his first pictures to illustrate his school paper. His professional career began with wedding photography followed by work on local newspapers. When the Korean war started Adams signed up with the Marine Corps as a combat photographer. 

Arbus regards the social landscape as endlessly fertile ground, her subjects are direct. Her people usually look at the camera. Irrelevant details are absent from most of her pictures. 

Bailey started his photographic career in the RAF and later became a fashion photographer. His most dynamic career period was during the 1960s when he took close cropped portraits with strong lighting and stark backgrounds. He was aided by young models of the time, but he also applied his intense style to portraits of famous and infamous icons of the 1960s. 

Gibson was assistant to Dorothea Lange, however after moving to New York in 1966 he attempted to find an "inner awareness" and rejected the visible reality and humanist message of his time. 

McCullin was born in the East End of London. His talent for drawing led him to the Hammersmith School of Arts and Crafts, but he had to leave at the age of fifteen when his father died. McCullin's photographic career started during his national service when The Observer bought some of his pictures. During the 1960's McCullin produced images that reflected the true horrors of war, he wanted to show the injustice and inhumanity committed during such conflicts. 

At the end of the 1950's Michals settled in New York and worked freelance for fashion and entertainment magazines. He developed a style of staged photographic sequences creating rather mysterious stories. From 1966 Michals started to add hand written titles and text to his photographs. 

Parkinson started to develop his unpretentious photographic style during the 1930's while working for fashion magazines in Great Britain. In 1949 he moved to New York where his career took off. He made his fashion images dynamic and interesting by using unusual props, settings and perspectives. 

Jane Bown was born in England and brought up in Dorset by several aunts. During the Second World War, at the age of 18, she joined the Wrens. After the war she studied photography at the Guildford College of Art. In 1950 she joined the Observer as a staff photographer and has worked there ever since. She has graced the Honours List, attaining an OBE and then a CBE in 1995.  In her modest, but not timid, manner Jane Bown has photographed a wide range of people in a very unobtrusive way, always capturing a natural moment in time. During her 50 year career Jane Bown has produced a vast number of remarkable images. 

Killip was born on the Isle of Man. After leaving school, and a series of casual jobs, he slowly began to build up his career in photography. Killip's pictures reflect life and are balanced essays on people and their environment, documenting the subtleties of working class life. 

Following National Service training in an RAF photographic section, Michael Langford moved onto press then industrial photography. He began his full time teaching career in 1959 at Ealing Technical College and in 1967 started teaching at the Royal College of Art, retiring in August 1997. Michael Langford is best known for his highly influential photographic text books. His book "Advanced Photography" has been translated into at least six languages and is the main reference book for many photographers, see the Further Reading section. 

Mapplethorpe’s photographic career began in the 1970's when he started to take pictures with a Polaroid camera. His subject matter included flowers, portraits and nudes. His explicit and erotic images of male homosexuality were often controversial and sometimes even banned from exhibitions. 

Helmut Newton was born in Germany and his photographic training took place in Berlin. He lived in Monte Carlo following several years in Australia, Singapore and then Paris. Newton has worked for various magazines including Vogue and Playboy. Newton’s images frequently portray tall, self-assured women impassively posing to form almost androgynous anatomical studies that also reflect stark sensual qualities. 

O'Neill was born in London in 1938 and turned to photography when he was twenty. He specialises in photographing celebrities and in 1985 published 'Legends' a book of his portraits.

Chris Smith was born in Hartlepool, County Durham, in 1937. At the age of 16 he became a darkroom assistant and trainee photographer at a local newspaper. After that he moved to London and became a Fleet street photographer working on the Daily Herald, Observer and Sunday Times. Chris Smith specialises in sport and has won a number of press awards. 

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Alphabetical Index of Photographers