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Anna Atkins
Born in 1799, Anna Atkins is best known for her contributions to photography as the first to publish a book containing photographs after taking her first photograph in 1841 (exact day and month are unknown). It is well debated whether or not she was indeed the first woman to take a photograph, but either way, she made a landmark move in integrating women into the world of photoraphy otherwise dominated by males. -
Susan Macdowell Eakins
10 years after the first photograph was taken by a woman, a renowned future fine arts university student named Susan Macdowell Eakins was born. At this time in history, photography was a male-dominated field. She worked closely with her husband, Thomas Eakins, in taking nude photographs of one another along with a variety of paintings. However, after her husband's death, Susan transitioned to focus solely on painting until her death in 1938. -
Julia Margaret Cameron
Julia Margaret Cameron was born in 1815, but her photography career flourished at age 48 (exact day and month unknown) when she was given a camera as a gift. Within 1 year of her career, she was granted membership into the Photographic Societies of London and Scotland, somthing quite difficult to obtain if you were a woman of that time. Although she learned her skills primarily from male figures such as David Wilkie Wynfield, she took her talent of soft-focus "fancy portraits" and ran with it. -
"Annie, my first success"
“Annie, my first success" was Julia Margaret Cameron's first print in which she was completely satisfied. Photography is extremely dependent on timing and exposure. Cameron was obsessed with the print's turnout, so she would force her subjects to sit through endless exposure and lighting "tests" to ensure a proper and satisfactory turnout. She was overly dedicated, and she should have gained more recognition from males and the general public for her renowned soft-focus "fancy portraits” -
Frances Benjamin Johnston
Frances Benjamin Johnston was lucky enough to attend the Academie Julian in Paris and what is now known as Notre Dame of Maryland University. Gaining her art education as a female was extraordinary for her time. In 1890 (exact day and month unknown), she began to travel Europe working as a freelance photographer. Using her family's connections, she had the opportunity to visit prominent photographers, mostly male, to further her photography-based knowledge. -
Frances Benjamin Johnston and her Studio
After working for the new Kodak company in Washington, D.C., Johnston opened a photography studio of her own in 1894 (exact day and month unknown). At the time, she was the ONLY photographer in the entire city! This very studio was the background to famous portraits of individuals like Susan B. Anthony, Mark Twain, and Booker T. Washington, amongst other social justice activists. To have this title, especially being a woman, was revolutionary and it proved talent is not dependent on gender. -
Imogen Cunningham
After being awarded a grant from her sorority to study photographic chemistry in 1909 (exact day and month unknown), Imogen Cunningham made the revolutionary claim that hand-coated paper for platinum prints was more convenient and easier to handle. Later, in Seattle, Washington, Cunningham opened her own portrait studio. She was the only photographer in the city who was a member of the Society of Seattle Arts, a prestigious title to have as a woman in the early 1900s. -
Dorothea Lange
Dorothea Lange, born in 1895, gained her fame as a doctumentary photographer during the Great Depression (beginning on Black Tuesday, 1929). With college education majoring in photography at Columbia University in New York, Lange photographed the economically struggling and homless residents of the city. After one failed marriage, she and her second husband went out to photograph rural poverty and the exploitation of rural residents. -
Margaret Bourke-White
In 1930 (exact day and month unknown), Margaret Bourke-White became the first Western photographer allowed to photograph in the Soviety Union through her employment at Fortune Magazine as staff photographer. During World War II, Bourke-White was also the first female war correspondent allowed to document combat zones. At times, she was the sole foreign photographer the Soviet Union. -
"Migrant Mother"
This photograph by Dorothea Lange documents the exploitation of rural residents in Nipomo, California. "Migrant Mother" captures the epitome of the struggles of the rural community during the Great Depression. The picture shows a mother with two children. The childrens' faces are facing backwards, but the mother's face shows feelings of fear, sadness, burden, and struggle. This very photograph made international headlines and became the face (literally) of the Great Depression. -
Annie Griffiths
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1953 (cannot find exact day nor month), photographer Annie Griffiths became a very influential landscape photographer. Soon after birth and the beginning of her photography career, Griffiths became one of the first female photographers to land a job at National Geographic. Also, she is one of the Executive Director of Ripple Images Effect, a collection of photographers who document programs that empower women and girls in developing areas of the world. -
Annie Leibovitz
While attending the San Francisco Art Institute, Annie Leibovitz developed her photography skills that translated to her stay in Isreal. In 1970 (exact day and month unknown), Leibovitz began her career as staff photographer for Rolling Stone magazine, photographing various celebrities. These very photographs created the "look" Rolling Stone continues to this day. During her employment, she realized the importance of balance between business and play, and began to photograph separately. -
Nancy "Nan" Goldin
Nancy "Nan" Goldin's work focused primarily on the post-punk and post-Stonewall scene of the homosexual subculture of the 1970s and early 1980s. She was drawn to share the lives of those living in a time where homosexuality was not okay, and decided to express that all individuals should be loved the same. Beginning in 1979 (exact day and month unknown), Goldin created an exhibit titled "The Ballad of Sexual Dependency", which was an autobiographical document of New York City. -
"John and Yoko" Cover
On December 8th, 1980, renowned photographer Annie Leibovitz had the grand opportunity to photographs legends John Lennon and Yoko Ono for their cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Lennon is shot nude, curled up into Ono. Lennon even commented, "You captured our relationship exactly". Eerily, Leibovitz was the last to photograph legend Lennon, for he was shot and killed a mere 5 hours after the photoshoot took place. -
Anne Geddes
Anne Geddes travelled to Hong Kong in 1983 (exact day and month unknown) with her husband for his work. During their stay, Geddes, age 25, taught herself photography using her husband's camera. By the time the couple returned to their native Australia two years later, she had built a small portfolio and her own garage studio. Her main subjects include babies and children shot in black and white, for she has a passion for young children, too. To Geddes, emotional content is most important.
