Everyday life Photography for Sale

In the 1830s, Nièpce discovered how to print images onto metal plates. When he died in 1833, Louis Daguerre, followed by Francois Arago, continued to develop his research, resulting in the invention of the daguerreotype which consisted of an image printed onto a silver plate when exposed to the light. Together they had invented photography.

The first ever photographs began to appear. Initially used for research purposes, photography started to spread as daguerreotype studios opened everywhere. Portrait photography immortalized the faces of the upper middle classes and were later used to capture all members of society. Celebrities were also a popular subject choice and many photographers specialized in taking their portraits, as Jean-Loup Sieff did all throughout his career almost a century after the invention of photography.

In the beginning, taking a portrait or even the simplest of family photos required a great deal of preparation and time in the studio. However, key technological developments brought about the invention of more compact cameras including the Leica and later the digital single-lens reflex, which meant shorter exposure times and made it easier to produce a greater number of photographs.

These advances also helped contribute to the development of the genre of everyday life photography, which became more popular at the end of the Second World War and focused at first on photographing wealthy or urban families. Families, couples, communities... artists were interested in everyday moments (marriage, lovers kissing, children's games). The simplest of moments in life were seen as the most important and were immortalized in film as testaments to the beauty of human life.

Some of the great photographers made a name for themselves in the genre. Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, David Goldblatt, Martin Parr and Vivian Maier are only a few of the artists associated with everyday life photography.

Vivian Maier is an American photographer who was born in 1926 in New York. A professional nanny in Chicago, she spent her spare time photographing the world around her and produced around 150,000 photos. Having remained anonymous throughout her artistic life, her genius and photographic accomplishments were finally recognized publicly in 2007.

Cofounder of the Magnum Photographic Cooperative in 1947 alongside David Seymour and Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson was a pioneer of photojournalism but also an excellent photographer in a more artistic sense. He revolutionized photography by working with incredibly lightweight equipment. He didn't use a tripod or a darkroom and treasured a sense of immediacy when taking photographs. He believed that “above all else, the camera is a sketchbook". Henri Cartier-Bresson's photographic technique is unique and unmistakably recognizable. He never photographed with flash and only worked with natural light, something which was highly characteristic of everyday life photography. Often in the same black and white image, the subjects coexist together but are not centred. His framing, focus and depth of field all help us to see the simple beauty of everyday life that he so exquisitely enhances.

Artsper has a range of everyday life photographs for you to discover, including works from Cartier-Bresson as well as many other artists, whose photos reveal the precious moments of the everyday lives of people from around the world.

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Photography, AV_Adria_010, Bernhard Lang

Bernhard Lang

Photography . 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography . 35.4 x 23.6 x 0 inch

€1,290

Photography, Misled youth (S), Brice Gelot

Brice Gelot

Photography . 40 x 60 x 1 cm Photography . 15.7 x 23.6 x 0.4 inch

€1,800

Photography, Against the world, Rodrigo

Rodrigo

Photography . 90 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography . 35.4 x 23.6 x 0 inch

€995

Photography, Duo Dive, Richard Dunkley

Richard Dunkley

Photography . 76.2 x 50.8 cm Photography . 30 x 20 inch

€609

Photography, Foot de rue, Uwe Ommer

Uwe Ommer

Photography . 40 x 48 x 0.1 cm Photography . 15.7 x 18.9 x 0 inch

€990

Photography, That beach, Corinne Dubreuil

Corinne Dubreuil

Photography . 60 x 90 x 0.1 cm Photography . 23.6 x 35.4 x 0 inch

€1,500

Photography, Pola Molitor, Gil Rigoulet

Gil Rigoulet

Photography . 50 x 50 x 0.02 cm Photography . 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch

€2,200

Photography, A Chick, Emil Farber

Emil Farber

Photography . 26.5 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography . 10.4 x 15.7 x 0 inch

€500

Photography, Motel, Nicolas Boutruche

Nicolas Boutruche

Photography . 60 x 150 x 2 cm Photography . 23.6 x 59.1 x 0.8 inch

€8,000

Photography, Socrate, Regis Duvignau

Regis Duvignau

Photography . 115 x 76 x 2 cm Photography . 45.3 x 29.9 x 0.8 inch

€1,000

Photography, Couple Embrace, Tony Potts

Tony Potts

Photography . 50.8 x 40.6 cm Photography . 20 x 16 inch

€1,709

Photography, Glaz VIII, Anthony Caer

Anthony Caer

Photography . 59 x 47 cm Photography . 23.2 x 18.5 inch

€1,100

Photography, Mostar Bridge, Ludovic Careme

Ludovic Careme

Photography . 40 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography . 15.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch

€1,350

Photography, Lotus, Yevgeniy Repiashenko

Yevgeniy Repiashenko

Photography . 100 x 100 x 3 cm Photography . 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.2 inch

€3,700

Photography, Copenhague, Yuhao Pan

Yuhao Pan

Photography . 70 x 50 x 0.2 cm Photography . 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch

€290

Photography, Men Working, Ken Heyman

Ken Heyman

Photography . 27.9 x 35.6 x 1.3 cm Photography . 11 x 14 x 0.5 inch

€4,316

Photography, One (M), Streety

Streety

Photography . 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography . 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch

€350

Photography, Illusion, Tanguy Mendrisse

Tanguy Mendrisse

Photography . 40 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography . 15.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch

€160

Photography, NYC Oculus II, Jochen Cerny

Jochen Cerny

Photography . 200 x 118 x 3 cm Photography . 78.7 x 46.5 x 1.2 inch

€4,800

Photography, Black Jack, Nick Veasey

Nick Veasey

Photography . 119 x 119 x 1 cm Photography . 46.9 x 46.9 x 0.4 inch

€13,000

Photography, Effluve 9, Charlotte Brunstein

Charlotte Brunstein

Photography . 43.43 x 42 x 0.1 cm Photography . 17.1 x 16.5 x 0 inch

€990

Photography, Solitude, Fabien Strauss

Fabien Strauss

Photography . 30 x 24 x 0.1 cm Photography . 11.8 x 9.4 x 0 inch

€253

Photography, Humantouch II, Sven Pfrommer

Sven Pfrommer

Photography . 70 x 140 x 3 cm Photography . 27.6 x 55.1 x 1.2 inch

€1,990

Photography, Lelo 1, Cristina Aldehuela

Cristina Aldehuela

Photography . 40 x 60 x 0.1 cm Photography . 15.7 x 23.6 x 0 inch

€1,100

Photography, New York, Lisa Tomasetti

Lisa Tomasetti

Photography . 58 x 70 x 1 cm Photography . 22.8 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch

€3,500

Photography, Topoleone, Louis Dourant

Louis Dourant

Photography . 60 x 42 x 1 cm Photography . 23.6 x 16.5 x 0.4 inch

€400

Photography, Dont Walk, Karol Kállay

Karol Kállay

Photography . 30 x 30 cm Photography . 11.8 x 11.8 inch

€1,100

Photography, Le plongeon, Franck Pourcel

Franck Pourcel

Photography . 24 x 30 cm Photography . 9.4 x 11.8 inch

€500

Photography, Pesadumbre, Martí Sala

Martí Sala

Photography . 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography . 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch

€900

Photography, Rue Mouffetard, Uwe Ommer

Uwe Ommer

Photography . 60 x 40 x 0.3 cm Photography . 23.62 x 15.74 x 0.1 inch

€1,349

Photography, Copenhague, Yuhao Pan

Yuhao Pan

Photography . 70 x 50 x 0.2 cm Photography . 27.6 x 19.7 x 0.1 inch

€290

Photography, Surreal Cemetery, Ken Heyman

Ken Heyman

Photography . 27.9 x 35.6 x 1.3 cm Photography . 11 x 14 x 0.5 inch

€4,316

Photography, Capitaine, Isabelle Picarel

Isabelle Picarel

Photography . 53 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography . 20.9 x 31.5 x 0 inch

€950

Photography, Galleon, Monica Denevan

Monica Denevan

Photography . 40 x 50 cm Photography . 15.7 x 19.7 inch

€884

Photography, Coffee break, Marcus Cederberg

Marcus Cederberg

Photography . 70 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography . 27.6 x 19.7 x 0 inch

€200

Photography, La plage, Camille Brasselet

Camille Brasselet

Photography . 50 x 75 x 0.1 cm Photography . 19.7 x 29.5 x 0 inch

€1,350

Photography, #3, Romane Grammond

#3

Romane Grammond

Photography . 30 x 22.5 x 0.1 cm Photography . 11.8 x 8.9 x 0 inch

€150