There are some fantastic portrait photographers out there capturing cutting-edge, unique portraits. These photographers have been influential and you can explore and learn something from each of them. They are in no particular order.
Here are 11 influential portrait photographers you need to know:
1. Sue Bryce
Sue Bryce is a fine art portrait photographer with a classic portraiture style, while still looking quite modern. Her lighting techniques are soft and beautiful.
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2. Lindsay Adler
Based in New York City, Lindsay Adler, is a fashion portrait photographer with works appearing in Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, and Marie Claire.
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3. Lee Jeffries
UK photographer, Lee Jeffries, is well-known for his “Homeless project.” In this project, Jeffries captures close-up portraits of homeless people living on the streets. His extreme close-ups that reveal all on his subjects faces are emotive and spectacular.
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4. Derrick Freske
Based in Los Angeles, California, Derrick Freske does fashion portraiture. He uses interesting lighting techniques, including the use of colored gels, and light reflections.
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5. Mark Seliger
Mark Seliger has photographed celebrity portraits for Rolling Stone, GQ, Vogue and Vanity Fair. He has photographed the likes of Kurt Cobain, Leonardo DiCaprio, Charlize Theron, and Nicole Kidman, to name a few.
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6. Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz is a celebrity portrait photographer that has been photographing famous types for decades. Making the transition from film to digital, Leibovitz has continued to inspire photographers around the world. Her photographs have been published in Rolling Stone and the New York Times. She has photographed celebrities including Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Brad Pitt. She also photographed Beatles singer and songwriter, John Lennon, on the day he was murdered (wikipedia).
7. Flora Borsi
Hungarian photographer, Flora Borsi is well known for her fine-art portraiture series, “Animeyed.” In this series, Borsi uses animal eyes to replace one eye of her human subject. You may recognize Borsi’s work on the Adobe Creative Cloud package.
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8. Tina Eisen
Based in London, UK, Tina Eisen is a fashion/beauty photographer who has made portraits for some big commercial brands.
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9. Patrick DeMarchelier
Patrick DeMarchelier is a fashion/beauty portrait photographer whose works have been in Vanity Fair and Harpers Bazaar.
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10. Marco Grob
Switzerland born, Marco Grob, is based in New York. Moving from fine art still life photography, into portraiture, he has photographed celebrities including George Clooney, Sandra Bullock, Sir Elton John, and Justin Beiber. He has also worked with Marvel Studios, Warner Bros and Netflix.
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11. Tatiana Lumiere
Tatiana Lumiere is a fine art and beauty portrait photographer based in Pennsylvania, USA. She specializes in “glamour portraiture with a dreamy, elegant and sensual twist.”
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Feature image: © Kevin Landwer-Johan
Table of contents
Portrait Photography
- GENERAL
- PREPARATION
- SETTINGS
- LIGHTING
- POSING
- COMPOSITION
- GEAR
- ADVANCED GUIDES
- CREATIVE TECHNIQUES
- POST-PROCESSING
- BUSINESS
- INSPIRATION
- RESOURCES