10 Historical Street Photographers you need to know about

Let’s dig into ten historical heavyweights who truly left their mark on street photography, changing it forever.

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson, born in 1908 in France, was actually a painter before he got into photography. He studied painting under Cubist artist André Lhote, which gave him a foundation in composition and perspective that heavily influenced his photographic work. His big breakthrough came in the 1930s when he picked up a Leica camera and decided to use it to capture candid, fleeting moments. Cartier-Bresson famously coined the idea of “the decisive moment,” capturing split-seconds where all elements align. One of his most famous works is Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare, where a man leaps over a puddle, perfectly frozen in mid-air, his reflection creating a surreal mirror image. Cartier-Bresson co-founded Magnum Photos in 1947, which remains one of the most prestigious photo agencies in the world. He traveled extensively, documenting events like Gandhi’s funeral, China’s transition to Communism, and the liberation of Paris, shaping photojournalism as we know it.

Vivian Maier

Vivian Maier’s life story is fascinating – she was born in New York in 1926 to a French mother and Austrian father and spent some of her early years in France. She had no formal education in photography; she taught herself and developed her own unique style. As a nanny in Chicago, she spent her off-hours roaming the streets with her Rolleiflex camera, capturing thousands of photos of urban life, particularly in working-class neighborhoods. Her photos went undiscovered until her storage locker – full of over 150,000 negatives – was auctioned in 2007. Some of her best-known images include Self-Portrait (1960s) and her numerous street scenes showing everyday life in the 1950s and 60s. Maier’s work offers an unfiltered glimpse into urban life that was way ahead of its time, and her legacy has since skyrocketed in popularity, despite being unknown during her life.

Garry Winogrand

Born in New York in 1928, Garry Winogrand studied painting at City College of New York and photography at Columbia University. His street photography from the 1950s through the 1980s became iconic, especially for capturing the chaotic energy of American life. Winogrand was prolific and had a unique shooting style that involved taking thousands of photos without looking through the viewfinder – he trusted his instincts, capturing movement, gestures, and expressions that feel spontaneous. Women are Beautiful (1975), a collection of women in everyday situations, is one of his best-known works. Another iconic series is Public Relations, which documents public events like protests, political rallies, and parades. His work was highly influential in street photography because it broke away from the formal composition and embraced the messiness of life.

Diane Arbus

Diane Arbus was born in New York in 1923, to a wealthy Jewish family, but she was always drawn to the fringes of society. Arbus studied photography with Lisette Model, who encouraged her to look at the world with a sense of curiosity. Her subjects ranged from circus performers to people with physical abnormalities, trans individuals, and anyone living on the margins of society. Arbus didn’t just photograph these people – she got to know them, often forming close relationships. Some of her most famous photos include Identical Twins (1967) and Child with a Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park (1962). These images are haunting and full of vulnerability, capturing moments that feel raw and unguarded. Her work challenged social norms and is considered revolutionary for its intimacy.

Elliott Erwitt

Elliott Erwitt was born in Paris in 1928 to Russian parents and moved to the U.S. as a teenager. He studied photography and filmmaking at Los Angeles City College and the New School for Social Research in New York. Known for his humor and wit, Erwitt’s photos are lighthearted yet incredibly insightful. His series on dogs, such as Dog and His Master (1955), is a classic example of his ability to capture humor in everyday life. He also worked on notable projects with Magnum Photos, covering everything from celebrity portraits (he photographed Marilyn Monroe and Che Guevara) to social issues. His style shows that photography doesn’t have to be serious to be impactful – sometimes, humor can speak volumes.

Helen Levitt

Born in 1913 in New York, Helen Levitt was a true New Yorker who stayed close to her roots. She was a self-taught photographer who found inspiration from Henri Cartier-Bresson’s work. Levitt was especially fascinated by children and spent years capturing kids at play in working-class neighborhoods of New York. Her book A Way of Seeing, published in 1965, is considered a masterpiece, documenting the everyday lives of people in the city. Levitt was also one of the early pioneers of color photography in the 1970s, creating images that capture New York City in a way that feels timeless. Her work is subtle yet powerful, focusing on ordinary people and capturing life’s small, overlooked moments.

Robert Frank

Robert Frank was born in Switzerland in 1924 and moved to the U.S. in 1947. He studied graphic design and photography, and his early work in fashion photography was technically impeccable, but he found it creatively stifling. Frank’s defining project was The Americans (1958), a book documenting his road trips across the United States. Funded by a Guggenheim Fellowship, he took around 28,000 photos, only 83 of which made it into the book. The images were raw, gritty, and often dark, showing America’s racial divides, poverty, and alienation. The Americans wasn’t initially well-received in the U.S., but it later became a landmark in photojournalism, shaping how we document social and political life.