Did you know that much of Robert Capa's photography was actually shot by a woman?

It's International Women's Day, so we're celebrating the incredible women who have shaped photography from day one.

From trailblazers like Anna Atkins, who helped create photography for scientific documentation, to today's bold visionaries like Petra Collins, these women have pushed boundaries, told new stories and changed the way we see the world.

They've inspired generations, broken down barriers and created images that stick with you. So take a moment to explore their work, get inspired and join us in celebrating the creativity and vision of female photographers – past, present and future.

The early innovators

Anna Atkins, 1799-1871
A friend of Henry Fox Talbot, Atkins was an English botanist and photographer. She published Photographs Of British Algae: Cyanotype Impressions, the first book with photographic illustrations, and some sources claim that she was the first woman to create a photograph.

Julia Margaret Cameron, 1815-1879
With a position in Victorian England’s high society, she captured many legendary figures in her short career – which started at the age of 48. She often posed her various sitters as characters from biblical or historical stories, copyrighting all her photos.

Bertha Beckmann, 1815–1901
Beckmann was possibly the first professional female photographer in the world, With her husband she opened a studio in Leipzig, Germany, in 1843 and ran the business herself after his death in 1847.

Mary Carnell, 1861-1925
The American photographer and clubwoman, based in Pennsylvania, was the founder and first president of the Women’s Federation of the Photographers’ Association of America.

Signe Brander, 1869-1942
Brander documented the city of Helsinki, Finland, and the everyday lives of its inhabitants in the early 20th century. She created 907 photos of the changing cityscape.

Modern pioneers

Dorothea Lange, 1895-1965
Co-founder of Aperture Magazine, Lange is responsible for one of the most famous images in photographic history – Migrant Mother Florence Owens Thompson during the Great Depression.

Tina Modotti, 1896-1942
Italian photographer Modotti was a revolutionary activist for the Communist Party, as well as a model and actress. Much of her work involved highlighting Mexican culture, which she began shooting in 1922.

Berenice Abbott, 1898-1991
Abbott started as a darkroom assistant for Man Ray in Paris, but quickly established herself as a visual artist in her own right. She is best known for portraits of between-the-wars cultural figures, urban design of the 1930s and scientific interpretation shots.

Margaret Bourke-White, 1904-1971
Remembered for iconic images of World War II and Gandhi at his spinning wheel. In 1941, she became the United States' first female war correspondent.

Dorothy Norman, 1905-1997
Norman was a writer, photographer and social activist who depicted the early 20th century through sensitive portraits. She donated many photos by herself and husband Alfred Stieglitz to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, establishing the Alfred Stieglitz Center.

Gerda Taro, 1910-1937
Regarded as the first female photojournalist to have died while covering the frontline of a conflict, during the Spanish Civil War. Taro was the companion and partner of Robert Capa, who was born Endre Friedmann. – "Robert Capa" was actually a pseudonym shared by the couple, and much of the Capa canon was shot by Taro.

Helen Levitt, 1913-2009
Levitt was a pioneer in street photography and captured subjects in New York City. She has been called “the most celebrated and least-known photographer of her time.”

Tsuneko Sasamoto, 1914-present
Sasamoto was Japan’s first female photojournalist, joining the Japanese Photographic Society in 1940. Margaret Bourke-White was a major influence on her decision to become a photographer.

Marion Carter, 1920-2002
Carpenter started working for the Washington Times-Herald at the age of 24. In 1945 she became the first woman national press photographer to cover Washington, DC, and the White House, and to travel with a US president.

Diane Arbus, 1923-1971
New York-based Arbus documented minority groups who were subject to prejudice. Her black-and-white portraits famously worked to normalize her marginalised subjects.

Vivian Maier, 1926-2009
Maier generated an astounding body of work but remained in obscurity until her images were distributed online after her death. Her photography encapsulated life in American cities, with a focus on the less fortunate members of society.

Present: Contemporary Icons

Sara Facio, 1932-present
Facio co-founded La Azotea, the first publishing house in Latin America dedicated to photography. She also established the Fotogalería of the Teatro Municipal General San Martín, one of the most prominent exhibition spaces in Argentina.

Annie Leibovitz, 1949-present
One of the most famous female photographers alive, Leibovitz is best known for her engaging and intimate portraits – particularly of celebrities. In 1991 she became the first woman to hold an exhibition at Washington’s National Portrait Gallery.

Nan Goldin, 1953-present
Goldin’s work features and explores LGBT bodies, moments of intimacy, the HIV crisis and the opioid epidemic. Her intimate images document her own life and those who are close to her.

Cindy Sherman, 1954-present
Sherman is one of the most influential people in contemporary art. She has worked as her own model for more than 30 years, capturing herself in a range of personas and assuming multiple roles: photographer, model, makeup artist, hairdresser and stylist.

Shirin Neshat, 1957-present
Iranian-born Neshat has a collection of images with a strong commentary on cultural and gender inequality in her native country. The challenges of being a Muslim woman is a great motivation behind her images.

Francesca Woodman, 1958-1981
Best known for her creative mono self-portraits, she also shot women who were blurred (due to movement and long exposures) and merged with their surroundings.

Deana Lawson, 1979-present
As an American artist, educator and photographer based in New York, Lawson’s work primarily focuses on issues of intimacy, family, spirituality, sexuality and Black aesthetics.

Petra Collins, 1992-present
Collins is an artist, model, photographer and one of the leading voices of the New-Wave Feminism movement. She has landed major campaigns at Adidas, Gucci and Nordstrom, and retains complete creative control over them.

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