Photography: Los Angeles and Southern California

The following are some artists, educators, and commercial photographers based in Los Angeles and Southern California (with a few exceptions of photographers who have worked in the area on a more limited basis). UCLA Library has books on most of them.

Architectural  

• Julius Shulman (October 10, 1910–July 15, 2009) 

Commercial  

• Ernest Mitchell Pratt (1876–1945) 
• Adelbert Bartlett (1887–1966) 
• Willard D. Morgan (May 30, 1900–September 18, 1967) 
• Robert C. Cleveland (April 4, 1918–December 12, 1991) 
• "Dick" Whittington 
• Otto Rothschild (1930–1981) 

Documentary  

• William Reagh (1911–1992) 
• Max Yavno (1911–1985) 
• Dennis Hopper (1936–2010) 
• Gusmano Cesaretti (July 24, 1944–) 
• Oscar Castillo (1945–) 
• Joseph Rodríguez (1951–) 
• Lauren Greenfield (1966–) 

Fashion  

• Herbert "Herb" Ritts Jr. (August 13, 1952–December 26, 2002) 

Fine Art  

• Barbara Brooks Morgan (July 8, 1900–August 17, 1992) 
• Barbara Kasten (1936–) 
• Ed Ruscha (December 16, 1937–) 
• Leland Rice (April 9, 1940–) 
• Judy Dater (1941–) 
• Ron Cooper (July 24, 1943–) 
• Patrick Nagatani (1945–2017) 
• Larry Sultan (July 13, 1946–December 13, 2009) 
• Anthony Hernandez (July 7, 1947–) 
• Jerry Burchfield (1947–2009) 
• Jay Mark Johnson (1955–) 
• Alex Praeger (1979–) 
• Robert Cumming 
• Freyda Miller 
• Jeff Burton 

Glamour  

• Peter Gowland (April 3, 1916–March 17, 2010) 

Hollywood

• Edwin Bower Hesser (1893–1962) 
• Clarence Sinclair Bull (1896–1979) 
• George Hurrell (1904–1992) 
• Nick Smirnoff (1944–) 

Landscape 

• Joseph Maurice "Joe" Deal (August 12, 1947–June 18, 2010) 
• Robert Adams (May 8, 1937–) 

Photojournalism 

• Ernest E. Reshovsky (1921–1975) 
• Walter E. Bennett (August 16, 1921–April 29, 1995) 

Pictorialists 

• William Mortensen (January 27, 1897–August 12, 1965) Opened the William Mortensen School of Photography in Laguna Beach.
• Louis Fleckenstein (1866–1943). Founded the Camera Pictorialists of Los Angeles in 1914.

Portrait  

• Stathis Orphanos (1940–) 

Professors 
Photographers (generally fine art and commercial) who have taught at various institutions of higher learning in Southern California.

UCLA

• Catherine Opie (1961–) Professor of photography since 2001.
• James Welling (1951–) Emeritus professor of photography. Taught in the art department from 1995-2016.
• Robert Fichter (1939–) Began teaching in 1968 or '69.
• Robert Heinecken (1931–2006) Founded the photography program in 1963. Among his students were the following artists who also became professors: Jo Ann Callis, Eileen Cowin, Darryl Curran, Uta Barth, John Divola, and Patrick Nagatani.
• Todd Walker (1917–1998) Taught at UCLA Extension, Art Center, and Cal State Northridge.

Art Center College of Design

• Paul Jasmin (1935–) Long-time photography professor at Art Center.
• George Hoyningen-Huene (1900–1968) Began teaching at Art Center in 1945.
• Will Connell (1898–1961) Taught here from 1931 to 1961.

Brooks Institute

• Ernst H. Brooks Sr. Co-founded the Brooks Institute.
• Ernst H. Brooks Jr. Succeeded his father in 1970.

California Institute of the Arts

• Jo Ann Callis (1940–) A former student of Robert Heinecken, Callis began teaching here in 1975.
• Sharon Lockhart (1964–) A professor at the University of Southern California’s Roski School of Fine Arts until 2015, Lockhart now teaches at CalArts.

UC Riverside

• John Divola (1949–) Has been a professor in the Department of Art since 1988.
• Uta Barth (1958–) Currently professor emeritus, Barth taught from 1990 to 2008.

Pomona College

• Sheila Pinkel (1941–) Curated the exhibition Multicultural Focus. Began teaching at Pomona in 1986.

Cal State LA

• Jack Butler (April 16, 1947–) Has taught in the Department of Art since 1988.

CSU Fullerton

• Eileen Cowin (1947–) Was a professor here for many years until her retirement in 2008.
• Darryl J. Curran (1935–) Another former student of Robert Heinecken, Curran became a professor of art in 1967.

Punk Rock  

• Ann Summa 
• Gary Leonard (1951–) 

Street Photography  

• Deanna Templeton (1969–) 
• Douglas McCulloh (1959–) 
• Bruce Davidson (September 5, 1933–) 

Urban Landscape  

• John Humble (1944–) 
• Robert Landau 
• Lloyd Ziff (1947–) 
• Bruce Davidson (September 5, 1933–)