Orran Smith wrote:
I'm looking for inspiration and just thought, who actually are the best portrait photographers ever?

http://www.albertwatson.net/

Albert Watson

if you ever get the chance to see his work in real life .. just go.. left me speechless for days.. thats how powerful his work is for me

size scale and quality at its best

*edit* and yes i know he has varied work but the quality is consistent throughout anything that he shoots

InnerGlow Studios wrote:
Although he is probably best known for his pioneering fashion work for the Condé Nast magazines (Vanity Fair, Vogue), Edward Steichen is my favorite portrait photographer.

I just read an interesting article about Steichen's session with JP Morgan which resulted in the famous "dagger" shot.  Real interesting dynamic between those two.

SoCo n Lime wrote:

http://www.albertwatson.net/

Albert Watson

if you ever get the chance to see his work in real life .. just go.. left me speechless for days.. thats how powerful his work is for me

size scale and quality at its best

*edit* and yes i know he has varied work but the quality is consistent throughout anything that he shoots

Very nice work, a definite eye.

SoCo n Lime wrote:

http://www.albertwatson.net/

Albert Watson

if you ever get the chance to see his work in real life .. just go.. left me speechless for days.. thats how powerful his work is for me

size scale and quality at its best

*edit* and yes i know he has varied work but the quality is consistent throughout anything that he shoots

Most of his images I cannot imagine bothering to take.
Most of his images I wish I had taken.

g r e g g o r i o  wrote:
best is subjective

but add  Sebastião Salgado

He is brilliant. Saw an exhibit of his work at the Sao Paulo Art Gallery.

Jostein Roalkvam wrote:
Although the well known masters are great and all, I'm much more inspired by more unknown photographers which I stumble upon on the internet etc. My favorite portrait photographer and biggest inspiration at this point has to be Jan Scholz www.micmojo.com (lots of nsfw)

That is some seriously wicked photography!

Lots of ideas there!

Thanks!!!

J Kegley Photographer wrote:
I find it interesting that all those mentioned, for the most part, were users of film and larger format cameras.  Sort of says something about the amount of technical knowledge needed to produce outstanding work.  They also had what many portrait photographers seem to lack:  a true relationship with their client.

It doesn't actually "say" that, but you're doing your best to "hear" that. 

The original poster asked for the best portrait photographers ever, not the best contemporary portrait photographers. Digital cameras are a very recent invention in the history of photography. They haven't been around long enough for anyone to likely develop a "legendary" reputation as a portrait photographer shooting with a digital camera. That reason alone could account for the prevalence of film shooters mentioned thus far. Karsh, Penn, etc didn't have the choice of shooting digital when they started shooting professionally. Many of them didn't have the choice at all, and died before professional digital cameras became commonly available. I suspect that several of these photographers would still have been just as admired if they had been shooting with a digital camera.

The art, vision, style, and talent belong to the artist, not the tools. I believe we celebrate these photographers for their artistry and talents, not for the particular hardware they purchased.

Glen Berry wrote:

It doesn't actually "say" that, but you're doing your best to "hear" that. 

The original poster asked for the best portrait photographers ever, not the best contemporary portrait photographers. Digital cameras are a very recent invention in the history of photography. They haven't been around long enough for anyone to likely develop a "legendary" reputation as a portrait photographer shooting with a digital camera. That reason alone could account for the prevalence of film shooters mentioned thus far. Karsh, Penn, etc didn't have the choice of shooting digital when they started shooting professionally. Many of them didn't have the choice at all, and died before professional digital cameras became commonly available. I suspect that several of these photographers would still have been just as admired if they had been shooting with a digital camera.

The art, vision, style, and talent belong to the artist, not the tools. I believe we celebrate these photographers for their artistry and talents, not for the particular hardware they purchased.

i agree. well said.