10 Most Famous Photos That Changed the Photography World
"Photographs open doors into the past, but they also allow a look into the future." — Sally Mann.
Few art forms have the power to freeze time and stir global consciousness the way photography does. Iconic images transcend borders, live through decades to change the way we see the world.
Look into the 10 most famous photos that shifted public opinion and left an indelible mark on the history of humanity. Each photo is a testament to the transformative power of the lens.
View from the Window at Le Gras (1827)
In a small upstairs room in rural France, Joseph Nicéphore Niépce placed a light-sensitive plate into a wooden box, pointed it out the window, and opened the lens. For hours, the image slowly burned itself into the metal. What emerged was a ghostlike view of rooftops, chimneys, and trees. This is how he made the first surviving photograph.
Niépce called the process heliography, understood literally as “sun writing.” He named this photograph a “first uncertain step in a completely new direction.” And it was.
Niépce never lived to see photography’s explosion. He died in 1833, overshadowed by his more business-savvy partner, Louis Daguerre, who later sold his photographic invention to the French government. For more than a century, Niépce’s name faded into obscurity.
It wasn’t until the 1950s that “View from the Window at Le Gras” was rediscovered in a dusty collection by photography historian Helmut Gernsheim. Today, it’s housed at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Texas.
Dalí Atomicus (1948)
Dalí Atomicus is taken by photographer Philippe Halsman. This photo captures the famous abstract painter Salvador Dalí. Interestingly, the photo was taken in 1948 - a time when there were no personal computers, so there was no post-production software or "photoshop". All the special effects in this frame were done by hand.
To take this photo, Halsman needed 4 assistants, including his wife and daughters, to throw buckets of water, throw chairs, and toss 3 cats into the frame at the same time Dalí jumped. It took 28 shots to get the desired result. Dalí Atomicus was printed on the front page of Time magazine and made the name of the famous painter Salvador Dalí.
The Open Door (1843)
In The Open Door, William Henry Fox Talbot composed every element like a painter: the sweep of light, the gentle arc, the balance of darkness and texture. The photograph was included in his 1844–46 publication, The Pencil of Nature, the first book illustrated entirely with photographs.
Lunch atop a Skyscraper (1932)
Lunch atop a Skyscraper is taken during the Great Depression in 1932. The photo was taken during the final months of construction on 30 Rockefeller Plaza, now part of New York’s Rockefeller Center.
No one knows for certain who snapped the iconic shutter. It’s often attributed to Charles C. Ebbets, though others like Lewis Hine and Thomas Kelley have also been mentioned. The exact identity of the photographer and most of the men causes ambiguity.
In the decades since Lunch atop a Skyscraper has come to represent much more than construction work. It’s been read as a metaphor for American resilience, for immigrant labor (because many of those men were Irish and Italian immigrants), for the bravery that builds cities.
First X‑Ray Photograph (1895)
In the latter half of 1895, when Anna Bertha Roentgen's husband spent weeks studying in his laboratory, she devoted herself to serving him. She silently brought him meals whenever he skipped a meal, and otherwise let him concentrate on his research. Whenever he needed a hand, she was ready to help. In fact, she gave him a hand, literally.
That is also the content of the most famous photo of researcher Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, "Hand mit Ringen". It helped him win the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.
The photo was different from any other photo taken before: it showed a slightly "ghostly" looking hand, with long finger bones and a large black mass, which was Mrs. Roentgen's wedding ring. It was the first photo in human history to be taken with X-rays (rather than with light like a normal photo).
This was the proof that there was an invisible ray that could see through a light barrier and see the inside of a human body. It made the name Wilhelm Roentgen famous worldwide.
V‑J Day in Times Square (1945)
“In Times Square on V.J. Day, I saw a sailor running along the street grabbing every girl in sight. I was running ahead of him with my Leica looking back over my shoulder. Then suddenly, in a flash, I saw something white being grabbed. I turned around and clicked the moment the sailor kissed the nurse… I took exactly four pictures. It was done within a few seconds." — Alfred Eisenstaedt.
The image shows the emotion of a nation erupting all at once. Victory on Japan Day meant World War II was finally over, and spontaneous parties spilled into the streets. Eisenstaedt captured the split-second embrace that would express that joy.
But despite its fame, the photo’s backstory is complicated. The people in the photo were strangers. He was a Navy sailor, she was a dental assistant in a nurse’s uniform. They hadn’t exchanged names. They never spoke again. And she hadn’t consented to the kiss.
No one can deny that V-J Day in Times Square is legendary. However, some see it as a pure joy; others see a moment that reflects a power imbalance between men and women, even happenìng in celebration.
Earthrise (1968)
On Christmas Eve, 1968, as Apollo 8 circled the Moon, three astronauts saw something unexpected: Earth rising like a blue marble over the lunar horizon. Astronaut Bill Anders raised his Hasselblad camera and clicked. This is how Earthrise is created.
“We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.” — Bill Anders later said
Le Violon d’Ingres (1924)
Le Violon d'Ingres by Man Ray in 1924 records the bare back of a woman, simulating the shape of a violin with a stylized letter f. The photo measures 48.5x37.5 cm, on silver gelatin photographic paper, signed "Man Ray 1924" at the bottom right, stamped with red ink "Original" on the back.
The artist combined many techniques to complete the work: Rayograph (photographs without using a camera but placing objects on a type of light-sensitive paper and exposing them to light to record their images), hand-drawing, multiple exposures, and re-photographing the prints... Then, Ray drew the letters f of stringed instruments (like violins or cellos) on the prints and exposed them to create the final photo.
According to TheValue, the title of the work is also a play on words. The phrase "Violon d'Ingres" literally means "Ingres's violin" referring to the painter Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres's passion for the violin. However, derived from a French idiom, the phrase means "hobby" implying Ray's fondness for his lover, Alice Prin.
Dovima with Elephants (1955)
At the time, no one had thought of shooting fashion with animals. Avedon was the first to do it. It also runs through Avedon’s art, the age and stress of it – like the dark and wrinkled elephants.
Although Avedon is best known as a fashion photographer, his portraits represented a significant innovation in the genre. By drawing out the core essence of his subjects, Avedon’s images offer viewers a closer, more intimate, and deeper look.
Abbey Road Cover (1969)
At Abbey Road, the image of the band's boys walking together across the road was captured and became the cover image of one of the most famous albums in the history of world music.
The legendary photo capturing the moment when John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr strode across the zebra crossing on Abbey Road was taken outside the EMI Studio, where the band recorded the album of the same name, "Abbey Road," in 1969. Scottish photographer Iain Macmillan only took 6 photos to capture this moment. The result of the 5th shot was chosen to become the cover of The Beatles' 11th album, released on 26/9/1969.
In this legendary photo, Lennon in a white suit leads the group across the road. Starr wears a black suit while McCartney is barefoot, holding a cigarette. Harrison is wearing blue denim, and a Volkswagen Beetle is in the background. Photo taken by Linda Eastman McCartney. Linda McCartney is known as the wife of the Beatles singer Paul McCartney. She is also famous for her series of photos of artists filled with the emotion, heart, and talent of a female photographer.
Linda Eastman McCartney was born in 1941 in New York and grew up in the suburbs of Westchester. From the 1960s to the 1990s, she took a series of photos recording the activities and performances of rock artists.
Linda's passion for music inspired her photography career, helping her persistently follow rock artists for nearly 30 years.
Conclusion
These 10 most famous photos record meaningful moments in human history. When the shutter clicks at the right second, it shapes reality.