It may have been born as a way to showcase clothes, but today fashion photography has its own set of rules which goes beyond the obvious. The top 10 fashion photographers in the world make and break these rules and give us those images that we drool over in magazines.
Glamor and glitz! Fashion photography embodies these words. It is one of those genres of photography that deals in making the real look surreal and the surreal look normal and wearable. Clothing and accessories on beautiful models taken to a whole new level of gorgeousness. Most fashion magazines and houses will swear by their favorite photographers and how it is because of these people that their designs and pages look brilliant and seduce the world. In this article, we try to make a list of the most sought after and top 10 fashion photographers in the world. The list remains a purely subjective one and a reflection of the writer’s choice of the best photographers.
Top Fashion Photographers in the World
Getting into a field like fashion photography and actually making a name for yourself can be quite a task. The photographers listed out in the table below have made their names on the basis of sheer skill, talent, an eye for the aesthetics, and perseverance. If you have been wanting to carve out a niche for yourself in the field of fashion photography, then it may be a good idea to learn more about the stalwarts in the industry.
Top 10 Fashion Photographers | ||
Name | Place of Work | Career Highlights |
Andrea Klarin | Paris | Yugoslavian by birth, Andrea Klarin is well-known as one of the foremost fashion photographers in the world having worked with labels like Valentino and Guerlain. His photographs have been praised all over the world for the sheer shimmer and shine that they seemed to exude. His use of shadow and light to create truly spectacular images has been heralded all over the world. |
Annie Leibovitz | New York | Born in Connecticut, Annie Leibovitz is probably more well-known as a portrait photographer than a true blue fashion photographer, but her groundbreaking work is convincing enough for her to be on this list. Having worked with the Rolling Stone and then the Vanity Fair, she moved on to working with Vogue in the year 1998. Her work has also been featured in many advertising campaigns and she has worked with several dance and theater groups. One of her most famous works is that of John Lennon and Yoko Ono shot for the Rolling Stone, just five hours before his death. |
Ian Abela | Paris | With more than ten years of experience in the world of fashion photography, Ian Abela is often known as one the best photographers in the world. He has worked with some of the best advertising campaigns in the world. One of the interesting things about his photography technique is that he specializes in using different digital techniques to change the way a photograph appears. |
Juergen Teller | London | His knowledge of photography can be traced back to his country of birth, Germany. While he is a favorite with several fashion houses and publications, he is perhaps best known for his work with Marc Jacobs and the prolific work that he has done for the designer in the past decade or so. His images are easily distinguishable due to the slight quirk and charm that they possess. With a soft color palette, the images are often dreamy. |
Mario Testino | London | Originally from Peru, Mario Testino is a very well-known photographer who has shot for some of the biggest fashion names in the world. He is also known for the celebrities that he has photographed in his lifetime which include the British Royal Family, Cameron Diaz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts, Claudia Schiffer, Gisele Bündchen, and Kate Moss. He also frequently works on commissions from Gucci, Estee Lauder, Dolce & Gabbana, etc. |
Patrick Demarchelier | New York | A Frenchman by birth, the only reason Patrick Demarchelier moved to New York was because he had followed his girlfriend there. Fashion photography was a result of working with photographers like Terry King and Jacque Guilbert. He has worked with Elle, Marie Claire, Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar. He has also shot advertising campaigns for fashion houses like Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Ralph Lauren, and Calvin Klein. |
Raya | New York | Having lived in Israel, Paris, and now New York, Raya got her first lessons in photography in Paris where she worked part-time as a photographer. For almost a decade, she has worked with the biggest names in fashion including Harper’s Bazaar, Dansk, Cartier, and ELLE. Her principles about fashion photography are that you need to love fashion and you need to be able to tell stories. Without both, it is difficult to catch the eye of a viewer. |
Richard Warren | New York | Richard Warren started out in photography at the age of twenty one when he started assisting different photographers like Bill King, Denis Piel, and Robert Mapplethorpe. He got his first big break when he was living in Milan, Italy. He was given an editorial assignment to shoot some of the biggest names in couture designing including Valentino for a 30 page assignment in Italian Bazaar. |
Steven Meisel | New York | It was with his works for Vogue magazine (both the US and Italian editions) that Meisel first gained fame. His subsequent work with Madonna brought him more popularity. Today of course, he is one of the foremost names in the world of fashion photography. He regularly works with the US and Italian editions of Vogue and also for the Conde Nast publication W. |
Yanick Dery | Montreal | The reason that Dery makes it to the list of the best fashion photographers in the world is probably the newness that he brings to his photographs. They are bold and elegant all at the same time. Every photo tells a story and stuns you into silence. Critics have often described his work as digital art. |
This list of the top 10 fashion photographers in the world is a subjective preference. There are many other famous fashion photographers who are as renowned and as prolific. Making an impartial list of this kind is a difficult and an almost impossible task, especially when you are bombarded with images that are so beautiful that you cannot make a comparison.