LGBTQ Photographers

It is astonishing the large number of LGBTQ photographers that have made a significant contribution to their craft. To date, we have identified 29 remarkable individuals. Many of these are household names.

Do you know the gay photographer who was the first non-English and the first photographer to win the prestigious Turner Prize? Just one of the stories you should know.

These photographers have recorded history in the making. They have chronicled the lives of ordinary folk, celebrities, and the rich and the famous. They have brought images of far-off lands into our homes. They have helped create and develop the market for magazines such as Interview, Esquire, Mademoiselle, Glamour, GQ, Newsweek, Harper's Bazaar, Tattler, Rolling Stone, Time, Vogue, Allure, Vanity Fair, Details, or Elle. They have educated us on the many wonders of nature. They have helped create the fashion houses of Giorgio Armani, Revlon, Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Gianni Versace, Calvin Klein, Elizabeth Arden, Donna Karan, Cartier, Guess, Maybelline, TAG Heuer, Lacoste, Gianfranco Ferré, Levi's, Victoria's Secret, Gap, Acura, CoverGirl, Lancôme, Valentino, and so many more.

Some of these photographers are also activists, both directly and indirectly, that have helped shape the LGBTQ world as we know it today. Early on, pictures of loving individuals of the same sex or pictures that portrayed the beauty of the human body as art were considered pornographic or obscene (and still are in many countries). But these photographers would have none of that - they have challenged these laws and won.

Perhaps most importantly, these photographers are chroniclers of our history - not just the LGBTQ world, but the world as a whole. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.