This is a list of photographers who were born in France or whose works are closely associated with that country.

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Carole Achache Carole Hélène Marthe Andrée Achache (née Salomon-Lange; 31 May 1952 – 1 March 2016) was a French writer, photographer and Actor. She was the daughter of French writer Monique Lange and the mother of French-Moroccan film director Mona Achac ...

(1952–2016) *

Olympe Aguado Count Olympe-Clemente-Alexandre-Auguste Aguado de las Marismas (3 February 1827 – 25 October 1894) was a Franco-Spanish photographer and socialite, active primarily in the 1850s and 1860s. One of several early photographers who learned the prac ...

(1827–1894) * Jacques Alexandre (born 1944) * Georges-Louis Arlaud (1869–1944) *

Hippolyte Arnoux Hippolyte Arnoux (active ca. 1860 – ca. 1890) was a French photographer and publisher. He was one of the first photographers to produce images of Egypt and documented the Suez Canal project with extensive photographs and a publication. Life an ...

* Yann Arthus-Bertrand (born 1946) *

Eugène Atget Eugène Atget (; 12 February 1857 – 4 August 1927) was a French ''flâneur'' and a pioneer of documentary photography, noted for his determination to document all of the architecture and street scenes of Paris before their disappearance to mod ...

(1857–1927) *

Alan Aubry Alan Aubry (born 24 September 1974) is a French photographer. He graduated from the Art College of Rouen, France, in 1998. Exhibitions * 2010 - Down Memory Lane. Maison d'arrêt des femmes. Rouen, France. * 2010 - Biographies. Pôle image de Ha ...

(born 1974)

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* Edouard Baldus (1813–1889) * Bruno Barbey (1941–2020) * Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007) * Hippolyte Bayard (1807–1887) * Alfred Beau (1829–1907) * Christophe Beauregard (born 1966) * Laurent Benaïm (born 1965) * Gilles Bensimon (born 1944) *

Pierre Berdoy Pierre Berdoy, born in 1936, is a French photographer of architecture, design, still life and beauty. Winner of the Niépce Prize in 1967, he collaborated on projects with French magazines such as ''L'ŒIL'' (1960s), '' Elle'' (1970s and 1980s), ' ...

(born 1936) * Laurent Biancani (1933-2003) * Auguste-Rosalie Bisson (1826–1900) *

Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard (2 August 1802 – 28 April 1872) was a French inventor, photographer and photo publisher. Being a cloth merchant by trade, in the 1840s he developed interest in photography and focused on technical and economical ...

(1802–1872) *

Félix Bonfils Félix Adrien Bonfils (8 March 1831 – 1885) was a French photographer and writer who was active in the Middle East. He was one of the first commercial photographers to produce images of the Middle East on a large scale and amongst the fir ...

(1831–1885) * Edouard Boubat (1923–1999) *

Alexandra Boulat Alexandra Boulat (2 May 1962 – 5 October 2007) was a French photographer born in Paris. In 2001, she co-founded the VII Photo Agency. Her work has appeared in many magazines, including ''Time'', ''Newsweek'', ''Paris Match'' and ''National ...

(1962–2007), photographer *

Jacques Bourboulon Jacques Bourboulon (born 8 December 1946)https://web.archive.org/web/20040411111721/http://www.jacques-bourboulon.net/HTML/artist.html Archived from the original on 2004-04-11. is a French photographer, specializing in nude photography. In 1967 he ...

(born 1946) *

Mohamed Bourouissa Mohamed Bourouissa (born 1978) is an Algeria-born French photographer, based in Paris. In 2020 Bourouissa won the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize. His work is held in the collection of the Maison européenne de la photographie, Paris. ...

(born 1978) *

Jean-Christian Bourcart Jean-Christian Bourcart (born 1960) is a French artistic photographer and film maker. He collected unsold wedding pictures, photographed in brothels and S&M cubs, photographed New Yorkers stuck in traffic jams, projected pictures of Iraqi victims ...

(born 1960) *

Guy Bourdin Guy Bourdin (2 December 1928 – 29 March 1991), was a French artist and fashion photographer known for his provocative images. From 1955, Bourdin worked mostly with ''Vogue'' as well as other publications including '' Harper's Bazaar''. He shot ...

(1928–1991) *

Adeline Boutain Adeline Boutain (11 April 1862 - 13 February 1946) was a French photographer and publisher of postcards. Life Boutain was born in Machecoul. She was interested in subjects having to do with her country such as cityscapes, seascapes, street photog ...

(1862–1946), photographer, postcard publisher * Bruno Braquehais (1823–1875) *

Brassaï Brassaï (; pseudonym of Gyula Halász; 9 September 1899 – 8 July 1984) was a Hungarian–French photographer, sculptor, medalist, writer, and filmmaker who rose to international fame in France in the 20th century. He was one of the numerous H ...

(1899–1984), Hungarian-born French photographer *

Adolphe Braun Jean Adolphe Braun (13 June 1812 – 31 December 1877)John Hannavy, Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography', Vol. 1 (Routledge, 2007), pp. 204–205. was a French photographer, best known for his floral still lifes, Parisian street scenes ...

(1812–1877) *

Serge Brunier Serge Brunier (born 1958 in Paris) is a French photographer, reporter, and writer who has specialized in popular depictions of astronomical subjects. Work and Target Brunier works together with the magazine Science et Vie and is a columnist of ...

(born 1958) *

Jean-Marc Bustamante Jean-Marc Bustamante (born 1952 in Toulouse) is a French artist, painter, sculptor and photographer. He is a noted conceptual and installation artist and has incorporated ornamental design and architectural space in his works. Career Bustamante ...

(born 1952)

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Bernard Cahier Bernard Cahier (20 June 1927 – 10 July 2008) was a French Formula One photo-journalist. Cahier began photographing F1 in 1952 and in 1968 he was one of the founders of the International Racing Press Association (IRPA) which began the process of ...

(1927–2008) *

Claude Cahun Claude Cahun (, born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob; 25 October 1894 – 8 December 1954) was a French surrealist photographer, sculptor, and writer. Schwob adopted the pseudonym Claude Cahun in 1914. Cahun is best known as a writer and self-portr ...

(1894–1954) *

Sophie Calle Sophie Calle (born 9 October 1953) is a French writer, photographer, installation artist, and conceptual artist. Calle's work is distinguished by its use of arbitrary sets of constraints, and evokes the French literary movement known as Oulipo. ...

(born 1953), photographer and other media *

Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson (; 22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as cap ...

(1908–2004) * Jean Chamoux (1925–2007) *

Jean-Philippe Charbonnier Jean-Philippe Charbonnier (28 August 1921 – 28 May 2004) was a French photographer whose works typify the humanist impulse in that medium in his homeland of the period after World War II. Early life Jean-Philippe Charbonnier was born in Par ...

(1921–2004) * Désiré Charnay (1828–1915) * Germaine Chaumel (1895–1982) * Clark and Pougnaud, art duo composed of photographer and painter * Antoine Claudet (1797–1867) * Paul de Cordon (1908–1998)

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Louis-Jacques Daguerre Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre ( , ; 18 November 1787 – 10 July 1851) was a French artist and photographer, recognized for his invention of the eponymous daguerreotype process of photography. He became known as one of the fathers of photog ...

(1787–1851) *

Luc Delahaye Luc Delahaye (born 1962) is a French photographer known for his large-scale color works depicting conflicts, world events or social issues. His pictures are characterized by detachment, directness and rich details, a documentary approach which is ...

(born 1962) * Édouard Delessert (1828–1898), painter, archaeologist and photographer * Patrick Demarchelier (1943–2022) * Thomas Devaux (born 1980) * André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri (1819–1889) * Louis-Camille d'Olivier (1827–1873) * Robert Doisneau (1912–1994), photographer *

Pierre Dubreuil Pierre Dubreuil (March 5, 1872 – January 9, 1944) was a French photographer, born in Lille, who spent his career in France and Belgium. As a pioneer of modernist photography, Dubreuil embraced innovative techniques and ideas that were celebrate ...

(1872–1944), photographer *

Maxime Du Camp Maxime Du Camp (8 February 1822 – 9 February 1894) was a French writer and photographer. Biography Born in Paris, Du Camp was the son of a successful surgeon. After finishing college, he indulged in his strong desire for travel, thanks to ...

(1822–1894) * Louis Arthur Ducos du Hauron (1837–1920) *

Jean Louis Marie Eugène Durieu Jean Louis Marie Eugène Durieu (10 December 1800 – 16 May 1874) was an early French amateur nude photographer, primarily known for his early nude photographs of men and women. A number of his male and female models were also painted by E ...

(1800–1874) * Raymond Depardon (Born 1942)

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* Philippe Echaroux (born 1983) * Wilfrid Esteve (born 1968)

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Antoine Fauchery Antoine Julien Nicolas Fauchery (15 November 1823 – 1861) was a French adventurer, writer and photographer with republican sympathies. He participated in the national uprising in Poland in 1848 ( Greater Poland Uprising), opened a photographic ...

(1823–1861) *

Bernard Faucon Bernard Faucon (born September 12, 1950) is a French photographer and writer. He first established a career in art photography and has exhibited widely around the world. Biography Faucon was born in Apt, in Provence, southern France. He attended ...

(born 1950) * Flore (born 1963), French-Spanish photographer and daughter of the painter Olga Gimeno * Hércules Florence (1804–1879) *

Fernand Fonssagrives Fernand Fonssagrives (June 8, 1910 – April 23, 2003), born Fernand Vigoureux near Paris, was a photographer known for his 'beauty photography' in the early 1940s, and as the first husband of the model Lisa Fonssagrives. He died in 2003 at Little ...

(1910–2003) * Vincent Fournier (born 1970), Burkina Faso-born Paris-based photographer *

Auguste François Auguste François (20 August 1857 – 4 July 1935) was a French consul first in Paraguay between 1893 and 1895 then in southern China between 1896 and 1904, first in Longzhou in Guangxi province and Kunming in Yunnan. In China, he is known as ...

(1857–1935) *

Charles Fréger Charles Fréger (born 1975) is a French portrait photographer. Work For ''Wilder Mann'' (2012), Fréger travelled across Europe to photograph the costumes and masks worn by people at the surviving pagan folk festivals that mark the coming of spri ...

(born 1975), portrait photographer * Jean-Baptiste Frénet (1814–1889)

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* Jules Gervais-Courtellemont (1863–1931) *

Léon Gimpel Léon Gimpel (13 May 1873 – 7 October 1948) was a French photographer. Born in Strasbourg in 1873. He was the youngest son of four, born to a Jewish Alsacian family who fled to Paris after Germany took over Alsace in 1870. Gimpel worked f ...

(1873–1948) *

Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey (21 October 1804 – 7 December 1892) was a French photographer and drawing, draughtsman who was active in the Middle East. His daguerreotypes are the earliest surviving photographs of Greece, Palestine (region) ...

(1804–1892) * André Giroux (1801–1879) * Jean-Pierre Gilson (born 1948) * Jean-Paul Goude (born 1938), French graphic designer, illustrator, photographer * Vincent Goutal (born 1971) * Yohann Gozard (born 1977) * Olivier Grunewald (born 1959) * Emile Gsell (1838–1879)

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* Lucien Hervé (1910–2007), Hungarian-born French photographer *

Henri Huet Henri Huet (4 April 1927 – 10 February 1971) was a French war photographer, noted for his work covering the Vietnam War for the Associated Press (AP). Early life Henri Huet was born in Da Lat, French Indochina, the son of a Breton engineer ...

(1927–1971)

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Dominique Issermann Dominique Issermann (born April 11, 1947) is a French photographer. She works primarily with black and white photography, and is noted for her works in portraits, fashion and advertising. She has shot campaigns for Sonia Rykiel, Christian Dior, N ...

(born 1947) *

Jules Itier Jules Alphonse Eugène Itier (1802–77) French customs inspector and amateur daguerreotypist. Between 1842 and 1843 he traveled to Senegal, Guadeloupe and India, where he took a number of early daguerreotypes. In December 1843, Itier was sent to ...

(1802–1877)

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* Gaspard-Pierre-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière (1798–1865) *

Jean-François Jonvelle Jean-François Jonvelle (), born on October 3, 1943, in Cavaillon was a French photographer of fashion, glamor and portraiture. Work on the release of 20 Ans magazine and then work on Dim Dam Dom ''Dim Dam Dom'' is a French television show t ...

(born 1943) *

Valérie Jouve Valérie Jouve (born December 27, 1964, in Saint-Étienne, France) is a contemporary French photographer, video artist, and director. Biography After studying anthropology, Valérie Jouve began pursuing a career as a photographer. Her work refe ...

(born 1964), photographer, filmmaker

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Eric Lafforgue Eric Lafforgue (born 17 July 1964) is a French photographer. He has photographed in North Korea, making many trips there, although he is now banned due to their breaking of photography rules. Lafforgue has documented the Guna people of the San B ...

(born 1964) *

Suzanne Lafont Suzanne Lafont (born 1949) is a French photographer. Life and career In 1992, she had a solo exhibition titled ''Projects 37: Suzanne Lafont'' at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Her work is included in the collections of the National Gal ...

(born 1949), photographer, installation artist *

Frédéric Lagrange Frédéric and Frédérick are the French versions of the common male given name Frederick. They may refer to: In artistry: * Frédéric Back, Canadian award-winning animator * Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor * Frédéric Bazille, Impress ...

* John Launois (1928–2002), photojournalist *

Jacques Henri Lartigue Jacques Henri Lartigue (; 13 June 1894 – 12 September 1986) was a French photographer and painter, known for his photographs of automobile races, planes and female Parisian fashion models. Biography Born in Courbevoie in western Paris to ...

(1894–1986) *

Louis Legrand Louis Auguste Mathieu Legrand (29 September 1863 – 1951) was a French artist, known especially for his aquatint engravings, which were sometimes erotic. He was awarded the Légion d'honneur for his work in 1906. Life Legrand was born in the ...

Gustave Le Gray Jean-Baptiste Gustave Le Gray (; 30 August 1820 – 30 July 1884)Le Corre, Florence "Translated from the catalogue ''Une visite au camp de Châlons sous le Second Empire: photographies de Messieurs Le Gray, Prévot...'', Paris: musée de l'Armée, ...

(1820–1884) *

Henri Le Secq Jean-Louis-Henri Le Secq des Tournelles (18 August 1818 – 26 December 1882) was a French painter and photographer. After the French government made the daguerreotype open for public in 1839, Le Secq was one of the five photographers selected ...

(1818–1882) *

Ange Leccia Ange Leccia (born 19 April 1952) is a contemporary French painter, photographer and film-maker. He works in Paris primarily with photography and video. Life and career Leccia was born in Minerbio, Barrettali commune, in Corsica, and studied fin ...

(born 1952), photographer, filmmaker *

Jean-François Lepage Jean-François Lepage (born 22 February 1960), is a French photographer and painter. He lives and works in Paris. Life and work Lepage was born in Paris, France, in 1960. He was introduced to photography by his uncle who was art director at ' ...

(born 1960), photographer * Auguste and Louis Lumière *

Serge Lutens Serge Lutens (born 14 March 1942 in Lille, France) is a French fashion designer, perfume creator, photographer, filmmaker and hair stylist. Career At fourteen, Lutens was taken on as an apprentice by a hair salon in Lille, a period which he de ...

(born 1942)

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* Dolorès Marat (born 1944) * Étienne-Jules Marey (1830–1904) *

Charles Marville Charles Marville, the pseudonym of Charles François Bossu (Paris 17 July 1813 – 1 June 1879 Paris), was a French photographer, who mainly photographed architecture, landscapes and the urban environment. He used both paper and glass negatives. ...

(1816–1879) * Pascal Meunier (born 1966) * Jean-Baptiste Mondino (born 1949) * Bruno de Monès (born 1952) * Sarah Moon (born 1941) *

Vincent Munier Vincent Munier (born 14 April 1976) is a French wildlife photographer and documentary filmmaker. Among his most notable works are his photographs of arctic wolves and snow leopards. He co-directed a film about snow leopards, ' (2021), which recei ...

(born 1976 *

René Maltête René Maltête (1930–2000) was a French photographer and poet. Biography René Maltête was born on 8 May 1930 at LamballeMichèle Auer and Michel Auer, ''Encyclopédie internationale des photographes de 1839 à nos jours / Photographers E ...

(Born 1930)

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Nadar Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar, was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloon (aircraft), balloonist, and proponent of Aircraft#Heavier-than-air – aerodynes, h ...

(1820–1910) * Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (1765–1833), inventor of photography

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* Dani Olivier (born 1969) * André Ostier (1906–1994)

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Gilles Peress Gilles Peress (born December 29, 1946) is a French photographer and a member of Magnum Photos. Peress began working with photography in 1970, having previously studied political science and philosophy in Paris. One of Peress' first projects exa ...

(born 1946) *

Pierre et Gilles Pierre Commoy and Gilles Blanchard, also known as Pierre et Gilles, are French artists and romantic partners. They have been producing works together since 1976, creating a world where painting and photography meet. Their art is peopled by their ...

, photography duo * Jean Philippe Piter (born 1968) *

Bernard Plossu Bernard Plossu (born 1945) is a Vietnam-born French photographer. His work is held in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum of Fine Arts and the Center for Creative Photography, both in Tucson, Arizona. Life and work Plossu ...

(born 1945) * Michel Poivert (born 1965), photography historian, president of Société française de photographie *

Kate Polin Kate Polin (born June 10, 1967) is a French photographer. Awards * 2011 - First prize of FNAC contest, France. Exhibitions * 2011 - Printemps des poètes festival, exposition, Rouen, France. * 2010 - Estrapade, exposition, Paris, France. * ...

(born 1967) *

Herman Puig Herman Puig (born German Puig Paredes; 25 February 1928 in Sagua La Grande – 25 January 2021 in Barcelona) was the founder of the first Cinemateca de Cuba and pioneer of male nude photography. Born in Havana, Cuba, where he began his early work, ...

(1928–2021), Cuban-born photographer and filmmaker *

Constant Puyo Émile Joachim Constant Puyo (November 12, 1857 – October 6, 1933) was a French photographer, active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As the leading advocate of the Pictorialist movement in France, he championed the practice of photog ...

(1857–1933)

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Réhahn Réhahn (born on 4 May 1979 in Bayeux in Normandy, France) is a French photographer based in Hoi An, Vietnam. Known as the photographer that "captures souls", he is recognized for his portraits of Vietnam, Cuba, Malaysia and India, and for his cul ...

(born 1979) *

Gérard Rancinan Gérard Rancinan is a French photographer whose work has appeared in publications such as ''Sports Illustrated'', ''Time'', ''Life'', ''The Sunday Times Magazine'', and ''Paris Match''. Life and work Gérard Rancinan started his career as an ap ...

(born 1953) * Henri-Victor Regnault (1810–1878) *

Bettina Rheims Bettina Caroline Germaine Rheims (; born 18 December 1952) is a French photographer. Career Early stages Bettina Rheims was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Her photographic career began in 1978, when she took a series of photos of a group of strip- ...

(born 1952), photographer *

Marc Riboud Marc Riboud (; 24 June 1923 – 30 August 2016) was a French photographer, best known for his extensive reports on the Far East: ''The Three Banners of China'', ''Face of North Vietnam'', ''Visions of China'', and ''In China''. Early life and e ...

(1923–2016), photographer * Olivier Roller (born 1972) * Dominique Roman (1824–1911) *

Willy Ronis Willy Ronis (; 14 August 191012 September 2009) was a French photographer. His best-known work shows life in post-war Paris and Provence. Life and work Ronis was born in Paris; his father, Emmanuel Ronis, was a Jewish refugee from Odessa, and ...

(1910–2009), photographer *

Georges Rousse Georges Rousse (born July 28, 1947) is a French photographer, painter, and installation artist. He has been taking photos since receiving his first camera at the age of nine, but he never formally attended art school to pursue photography. Instead ...

(born 1947), photographer

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* Lise Sarfati (born 1958), photographer * Jean-Louis Schoellkopf (born 1946), photographer * Stéphane Sednaoui (born 1963) *

Jeanloup Sieff Jeanloup Sieff (November 30, 1933 – September 20, 2000) was a French photographer. He was born in Paris to Polish parents. He was a photography student of Gertrude Fehr. He is famous for his portraits of politicians, famous artists, landscapes, ...

(1933–2000) * Camille Silvy (1834–1910) * Hedi Slimane (born 1968) * Albert Spaggiari (1932–1989) * Christine Spengler (born 1945) *

Alex Strohl Alex Strohl (born 5 September 1989) is a French photographer and author, best known for his landscape and outdoor photography. Strohl is based in Whitefish, Montana. In 2018, XXLPIX ranked him in 12th position in the "TOP100 photographers on t ...

(born 1989)

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* Chloé Tallot (born 1973) * Antoine Tempé (born 1960) *

Jean-Baptiste Tournassoud Jean-Baptiste Tournassoud (May 3, 1866 – January 5, 1951) was a French photographer and military officer. Biography Tournassoud was born May 3, 1866, in Montmerle-sur-Saône. In 1879, he was first in the canton for the certificate of primary s ...

(1866–1951), photographer and military officer *

Pierre Toutain-Dorbec Pierre Toutain-Dorbec, (born 16 April 1951) in Orbec, Normandy, France is a Franco-American photographer, artist, author, and publisher whose work emphasizes a humanist perspective. Biography Pierre grew up in Orbec, Normandy, and Paris. His ...

(born 1951) *

Natalia Turine Natalia Turine is a well-known Russian journalist and photographer. Biography Natalia Turine (born 16 February 1964 in Germany) is a Russian journalist who currently lives and works in Paris, France. Since 2003, her main activity has been phot ...

(born 1964)

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* Pierre de Vallombreuse (born 1962) * Benedicte Van der Maar (born 1968) * Xavier Veilhan (born 1963), photographer, other media *

Jean-Marie Villard Jean-Marie Villard (; 3 January 1828 in Ploaré, Finistère – 16 August 1899 in Ploaré) was a French-Breton people, Breton painter and photographer. Biography His father was a carpenter and contractor,

(1828–1899) * Jean-Michel Voge (born 1949) *

Franck Vogel Franck Vogel (born 1977 in Strasbourg, France) is a French photographer specializing in social & environmental issues, journalist, speaker and documentary film director. He lives and works in Paris.

(born 1977)

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* Evrard Wendenbaum (born 1979) * Albert Willecomme (1900–1971) *

Wols Wols was the pseudonym of Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze (27 May 19131 September 1951), a German painter and photographer predominantly active in France. Though broadly unrecognized in his lifetime, he is considered a pioneer of lyrical abstracti ...

(1913–1951), German photographer who worked in France

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Muammer Yilmaz Muammer Yilmaz is a French adventurer, producer, photographer and author. He was born in Colmar in Alsace. In 2014, with Milan Bihlmann, he completed a world tour in 80 days without money. Biography Muammer Yilmaz was born in Colmar in Alsace ...

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Patrick Zachmann Patrick Zachmann (born 1955) is a French photojournalist, based in Paris. He is a full member of Magnum Photos. In 1989 Zachmann received the Niépce Prize, and in 2016 the Prix Nadar for his book ''So Long, China''. Early life Zachmann was born ...

(born 1955)

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See also