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, Equilibre, Alexis Duclos

Alexis Duclos

Photography . 30 x 40 x 0.2 cm Photography . 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.1 inch

CHF 661

Photography, Malibu, Olivier Morin

Olivier Morin

Photography . 76 x 115 x 1 cm Photography . 29.9 x 45.3 x 0.4 inch

CHF 1,069

Photography, Pit Stop (L), Beau Simmons

Beau Simmons

Photography . 152.4 x 190.5 cm Photography . 60 x 75 inch

CHF 17,798

Photography, Pit Stop (M), Beau Simmons

Beau Simmons

Photography . 121.9 x 152.4 cm Photography . 48 x 60 inch

CHF 12,013

Photography, No Vacancy (L), Beau Simmons

Beau Simmons

Photography . 152.4 x 190.5 cm Photography . 60 x 75 inch

CHF 17,798

Photography, No Vacancy (M), Beau Simmons

Beau Simmons

Photography . 121.9 x 152.4 cm Photography . 48 x 60 inch

CHF 12,013

Photography, #1, Nicolas Fontas

#1

Nicolas Fontas

Photography . 20 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography . 7.9 x 11.8 x 0 inch

CHF 117

Photography, La Coquille Club, Toni Frissell

Toni Frissell

Photography . 76 x 101 x 0.01 cm Photography . 29.9 x 39.8 x 0 inch

CHF 1,603

Photography, Greece, Dmitri Talianski

Dmitri Talianski

Photography . 48 x 72 cm Photography . 18.9 x 28.3 inch

CHF 1,068

Photography, Where time stops (M), Streety

Streety

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

CHF 340

Photography, Into the Mist, Soohyun Kim

Soohyun Kim

Photography . 60.96 x 40.24 x 1 cm Photography . 24 x 15.8 x 0.4 inch

CHF 632

Photography, Le Plongeon #3, Samzaï

Samzaï

Photography . 50 x 75 x 1 cm Photography . 19.7 x 29.5 x 0.4 inch

CHF 379

Photography, High Roller, Arthur Steel

Arthur Steel

Photography . 48 x 61 x 1 cm Photography . 18.9 x 24 x 0.4 inch

CHF 1,773

Photography, Windows Vert, Mathieu Walter

Mathieu Walter

Photography . 160 x 120 x 2.5 cm Photography . 63 x 47.2 x 1 inch

CHF 7,287

Photography, Where time stops (S), Streety

Streety

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

CHF 243

Photography, Golden summer 2, Rodrigo

Rodrigo

Photography . 23.3 x 33.9 x 0.1 cm Photography . 9.2 x 13.3 x 0 inch

CHF 679

Photography, J'oublie tout, Rodrigo

Rodrigo

Photography . 33.9 x 23.3 x 0.1 cm Photography . 13.3 x 9.2 x 0 inch

CHF 679

Photography, Greece, Dmitri Talianski

Dmitri Talianski

Photography . 48 x 72 cm Photography . 18.9 x 28.3 inch

CHF 1,068

Photography, Pola Molitor, Gil Rigoulet

Gil Rigoulet

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

CHF 2,137

Photography, #10, Julien Espiaut

#10

Julien Espiaut

Photography . 29.7 x 21 x 0.1 cm Photography . 11.7 x 8.3 x 0 inch

CHF 185

Photography, #4, Antoine Cahors

#4

Antoine Cahors

Photography . 15 x 10 x 1.5 cm Photography . 5.9 x 3.9 x 0.6 inch

CHF 87

Photography, NYC, Jean-François Levere

NYC

Jean-François Levere

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

CHF 768

Photography, Old days, Ali Buhamad

Ali Buhamad

Photography . 50 x 40 x 5 cm Photography . 19.7 x 15.7 x 2 inch

CHF 445

Photography, Open Bitch, Léa Bon

Léa Bon

Photography . 52.8 x 79.8 x 0.3 cm Photography . 20.8 x 31.4 x 0.1 inch

CHF 2,225

Photography, Pola Molitor 2, Gil Rigoulet

Gil Rigoulet

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

CHF 2,137