15 Female Photographers That Are Making a Difference

The 20th century was commemorated by the stereotype that photography is a man’s world, and until very recently it was real. For instance, even in 2015, the World Press Photo and the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism published a study, The State of News Photography, in which they found out that professional news photography is dominated by men. Of the 1,556 respondents, it turns out that 85% were male.

However, in the last few years, the situation has changed. In 2016 the UK government published a report on creative industries, which pointed out that there are 39.9% of women employed for video and photography positions. A year later, documentary photographer Daniella Zalcman launched a Women Photograph initiative to elevate the voices of women.  Meanwhile, Rebecca Douglas wrote a viral letter to Nikon and expressed her disappointment, as the launch of the D850 was road-tested by 32 professionals, not including any women.

In honor of International Women’s Day, we shed light on professionals that have made their mark in this creative industry.

 

The best female photographers to follow

Maria Svarbova

Although Maria Svarbova is already a successful and worldwide known photographer, her artworks are definitely worth watching for this year. She creates striking photos, applying to the idealistic symmetry of the Socialist era architecture and public spaces. Being only 30, she has already been published in Vogue, The Guardian, Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar and featured in Forbes 30 under 30 list.

Marta Bevacqua

Got acquainted with Marta Bevacqua’s artworks, you’ll quickly become a fan of her surrealistic and eye-catching photography style. Italian photographer and director likes to capture people, giving preference to portrait photography. Not surprisingly, she’s been featured in fashion magazines and campaigns.

Sonia Szóstak

Photographer Sonia Szóstak has graduated from the Leon Schiller National Film, Television and Theatre School in Poland, but now she’s based in Paris. Her works are so atmospheric, natural, and bewitching that it’s impossible to take your eyes off. In her 20’s, Sonia has already collaborated with Vogue and exhibited in New York, Milan, Madrid, Berlin, and other large cities.

Maryam Firuzi

Maryam Firuzi is a multimedia artist from Iran, who challenges the art form itself. She has degrees in Persian Calligraphy, Soft Engineering, Cinema and Film Studies, and can boast a dozen of awards in Photography and Filmmaking.

Laura Pannack

In the contemporary world where everything is materialistic, it is crucial to pay attention to the social aspects of our lives. So, London-based photographer Laura Pannack seeks to share the real stories of people by shooting on analogue film and allowing the process to be as organic as possible. Moreover, she is an award-winning female photographer, who has been exhibited at London’s major artspaces: The National Portrait Gallery, Somerset House, and The Royal Festival Hall.

Carmody Baker

Watch for Carmody Baker’s photography this year and enjoy people, nature and travelling. She makes an emphasis on emotions and addresses her snapshots to those who don’t have  the opportunity to explore the world through a camera lens.

Cheyenne Beverley

A devoted photographer Cheyenne Beverley, has always dreamed of becoming a professional in the field. As a child, she was making a rectangle with her fingers and pretended it was a camera. Now she travels a lot and captures people and their lives in Peru, Hawaii, Washington, and Alaska. Cheyenne’s photographs are imbued with nostalgia for past decades.

Anj

Pop-culture, intraracial-relations, and African American femininity are the topics that Anj interprets in her works. Since these girlhood stories with narrative structure happen to be relevant as never before, Anj participates not only in US group exhibitions but also has solo ones.

Christian A. Schaffer

If you are an avid traveller, you should definitely pay attention to Christian A. Schaffer’s photography. You’ll ask why? Because she has travelled to 36 countries and has changed her mailing address 33 times. It seems that taking trips and photos are her calling in life. It is no wonder she’s among female photographers, who have been featured by The Huffington Post, Daily Mail, and USA Today.

Giulia Gartner

Bright and breathtaking are the words that describe Giulia Gartner’s photography style. The up-and-coming commercial photographer from Italy travels around the world to explores the most beautiful destinations. The evidence are her projects with a number of world-famous brands like Ford, Chloe, Sixt, GoPro and Olympus.

Julia Gartland

Photographer, food stylist, and recipe developer Julia Gartland creates mouth-watering artworks for her Sassy Kitchen website. However, her work goes on, as she collaborates with H&M, Vogue, Mercedes Benz and other brands to commission stylish snapshots.

Maya Barkai

Maya Barkai started her career as a documentary military photographer and continues to create still life photos and installations in the public realm. Her works have been noticed by the Sony World Photography Awards and exhibited worldwide: from New York to Tel Aviv.

Carolyn Drake

Carolyn Drake is a photographer who has mostly worked on long-term projects. For example, on the “Two Rivers” project, she’s been working for six years, from 2007 until 2013. Her project “Wild Pigeon” began in 2007 as well, and took her seven years to complete. Moreover, she is a recipient of a Guggenheim and Fulbright fellowships, and an associate member of Magnum Photos.

Guadalupe Laiz

If you’ve ever dreamed of travelling into the wild, you can still do it by following the art of Guadalupe Laiz. Being both a photographer and an environmentalist, she captures the beauty and uniqueness of animals, indigenous horses of Iceland in particular.

Joyanne Panton

Joyanne Panton says that her mission as a woman is to uplift others. She also hopes that her way of life and work will inspire people to be the best you that you can be. Looking at her photography, one cannot but fully agree that Joyanne’s photos promote explicit female beauty and power.

Going from wild and nature to fashion and beauty, from still life snapshots to motion, from social to surrealistic, the works of the abovementioned female photographers coming from different corners of the world, empower and motivate.

Happy International Women’s Day! Share this inspiring blog to spread the word about the accomplished female photographers.

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