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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Painting, Tangle, Zied Lasram

Zied Lasram

Painting . 39 x 27 x 1 cm Painting . 15.4 x 10.6 x 0.4 inch

$725

Painting, Mask Dance, Kusbudiyanto

Kusbudiyanto

Painting . 66 x 66 x 3 cm Painting . 26 x 26 x 1.2 inch

$1,571

Painting, Calèche, Adolfo Carducci

Adolfo Carducci

Painting . 25 x 33 x 0.3 cm Painting . 9.8 x 13 x 0.1 inch

$1,258

Painting, Priscilla, Matteo Fieno

Matteo Fieno

Painting . 100 x 100 x 4 cm Painting . 39.4 x 39.4 x 1.6 inch

$1,197

Photography, Central Park, Nadine Track

Nadine Track

Photography . 122 x 191 cm Photography . 48 x 75.2 inch

$10,878

Painting, Famille de coeur, Max Rovira

Max Rovira

Painting . 100 x 100 x 2.5 cm Painting . 39.4 x 39.4 x 1 inch

$4,714

Painting, Insiemi 5, Dores Sacquegna

Dores Sacquegna

Painting . 21 x 30 x 0.3 cm Painting . 8.3 x 11.8 x 0.1 inch

$423 $338

Painting, Winter fun, Ilze Smildzina

Ilze Smildzina

Painting . 70 x 90 x 3 cm Painting . 27.6 x 35.4 x 1.2 inch

$7,252

Painting, Memories, Jacob Burda

Jacob Burda

Painting . 92 x 92 x 2 cm Painting . 36.2 x 36.2 x 0.8 inch

$3,384

Painting, lopera, G.Marin

G.Marin

Painting . 30 x 40 x 3 cm Painting . 11.8 x 15.7 x 1.2 inch

$991

Photography, Amnistie, Marie VDB

Marie VDB

Photography . 70 x 100 cm Photography . 27.6 x 39.4 inch

$2,055

Painting, Vaguer, Lucie Geffré

Lucie Geffré

Painting . 89 x 146 x 2 cm Painting . 35 x 57.5 x 0.8 inch

$6,285

Painting, Evening, Nikolay Rusev

Nikolay Rusev

Painting . 45 x 33 x 2 cm Painting . 17.7 x 13 x 0.8 inch

$459

Painting, Summer, Daria Startseva

Daria Startseva

Painting . 100 x 70 x 3 cm Painting . 39.4 x 27.6 x 1.2 inch

$4,835

Photography, Marais Kiss, Clément Tuo

Clément Tuo

Photography . 100 x 70 x 0.2 cm Photography . 39.4 x 27.6 x 0.1 inch

$967

Painting, Harlequin, Nigel Bailey

Nigel Bailey

Painting . 45.8 x 45.8 x 0.4 cm Painting . 18 x 18 x 0.2 inch

$1,692

Painting, Have a Caliday, Sa Hara

Sa Hara

Painting . 60.6 x 72.7 x 3 cm Painting . 23.9 x 28.6 x 1.2 inch

$1,450

Painting, Run run run, Gabrielle Rul

Gabrielle Rul

Painting . 31 x 23 x 0.1 cm Painting . 12.2 x 9.1 x 0 inch

$483

Photography, Ascension, Bilal Aouffen

Bilal Aouffen

Photography . 45 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography . 17.7 x 11.8 x 0 inch

$1,692

Painting, Espresso, Darren Thompson

Darren Thompson

Painting . 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Painting . 16 x 12 x 2 inch

$1,029

Photography, Le lutteur, Chiara Dazi

Chiara Dazi

Photography . 60 x 60 cm Photography . 23.6 x 23.6 inch

$1,209

Photography, Lieutenant, Mark Leech

Mark Leech

Photography . 40 x 55 x 0.1 cm Photography . 15.7 x 21.7 x 0 inch

$1,124

Photography, Little Buddha, Robert Curran

Robert Curran

Photography . 61 x 40.6 x 0.3 cm Photography . 24 x 16 x 0.1 inch

$2,707

Painting, Poised, Erika Vilimaityte

Erika Vilimaityte

Painting . 110 x 100 x 2 cm Painting . 43.3 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

$2,901

Painting, Untitled, Ilia Balavadze

Ilia Balavadze

Painting . 70 x 40 x 3 cm Painting . 27.6 x 15.7 x 1.2 inch

$1,027

Painting, Relaxamento, Sylvie Eudes

Sylvie Eudes

Painting . 80 x 80 x 3 cm Painting . 31.5 x 31.5 x 1.2 inch

$4,351

Painting, Voyage, Olivier Suire Verley

Olivier Suire Verley

Painting . 140 x 100 x 2.5 cm Painting . 55.1 x 39.4 x 1 inch

$20,306

Painting, Kitalpha, Adele Bessy

Adele Bessy

Painting . 60 x 60 x 2 cm Painting . 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

$2,780

Painting, Envy, Naomi Friedman

Naomi Friedman

Painting . 50.8 x 50.8 x 3 cm Painting . 20 x 20 x 1.2 inch

$967