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, Via Margutta, Nicolaï

Nicolaï

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

$4,593

Painting, Washing machine, Kosta Morr

Kosta Morr

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

$483

Painting, Life, Kim Yoon Kyung

Kim Yoon Kyung

Painting . 97 x 162 x 4 cm Painting . 38.2 x 63.8 x 1.6 inch

$9,428

Photography, #7, Guillaume Benichou

#7

Guillaume Benichou

Photography . 16.4 x 24 x 0.1 cm Photography . 6.5 x 9.4 x 0 inch

$423

Photography, Vertige, Regis Duvignau

Regis Duvignau

Photography . 60 x 70 x 2 cm Photography . 23.6 x 27.6 x 0.8 inch

$919

Painting, Requiem, Natia Sapanadze

Natia Sapanadze

Painting . 50 x 65 x 3 cm Painting . 19.7 x 25.6 x 1.2 inch

$3,626

Painting, On y va ?, Patricia Simsa

Patricia Simsa

Painting . 116 x 90 x 4 cm Painting . 45.7 x 35.4 x 1.6 inch

$4,230

Painting, Southbank Couple, Richard K

Richard K

Painting . 55 x 65 x 4 cm Painting . 21.7 x 25.6 x 1.6 inch

$1,305

Painting, Shadowplay, Rumen Sazdov

Rumen Sazdov

Painting . 80 x 100 x 2 cm Painting . 31.5 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

$6,890

Painting, Arike, Odesola Idowu

Odesola Idowu

Painting . 121.9 x 91.4 x 2.5 cm Painting . 48 x 36 x 1 inch

$4,441

Painting, Alb, Juliane Hundertmark

Alb

Juliane Hundertmark

Painting . 135 x 145 x 5 cm Painting . 53.1 x 57.1 x 2 inch

$12,691

Painting, 21.02.2025, Michel Bianconi

Michel Bianconi

Painting . 38.5 x 70 x 1 cm Painting . 15.2 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch

$1,088

Photography, Boys Playing, Ken Heyman

Ken Heyman

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

$5,199

Painting, Hard Way, Ilia Balavadze

Ilia Balavadze

Painting . 150 x 200 x 4 cm Painting . 59.1 x 78.7 x 1.6 inch

$4,472

Painting, The Races, Alexander Levich

Alexander Levich

Painting . 20 x 30 x 3.5 cm Painting . 7.9 x 11.8 x 1.4 inch

$907

Painting, Evening, Alexander Levich

Alexander Levich

Painting . 20 x 30 x 3.5 cm Painting . 7.9 x 11.8 x 1.4 inch

$907

Painting, Deer, Alexander Levich

Alexander Levich

Painting . 20 x 30 x 3.5 cm Painting . 7.9 x 11.8 x 1.4 inch

$907

Painting, Gentle, Xiang Shuai

Xiang Shuai

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

$4,351

Painting, Cafe Scene V, Isaac Maimon

Isaac Maimon

Painting . 102 x 78 x 3 cm Painting . 40.2 x 30.7 x 1.2 inch

$2,756

Painting, Willpower, Zakhar Shevchuk

Zakhar Shevchuk

Painting . 70 x 60 x 20 cm Painting . 27.6 x 23.6 x 7.9 inch

$2,417

Painting, Iceberg Melting, Su Yu

Su Yu

Painting . 275 x 140 x 5 cm Painting . 108.3 x 55.1 x 2 inch

$35,052

Painting, Messier 87, Eduard Churkin

Eduard Churkin

Painting . 90 x 139 x 4 cm Painting . 35.4 x 54.7 x 1.6 inch

$14,384

Painting, On Duty, Alexander Levich

Alexander Levich

Painting . 35 x 45 x 2 cm Painting . 13.8 x 17.7 x 0.8 inch

$834

Photography, Mendrisse, Tanguy Mendrisse

Tanguy Mendrisse

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

$338

Photography, Daily Life, Anaiis Lee

Anaiis Lee

Photography . 50 x 70 x 0.3 cm Photography . 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.1 inch

$1,450

Photography, Sana, Cécile Baldewyns

Cécile Baldewyns

Photography . 50 x 50 x 0.04 cm Photography . 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch

$846

Painting, Internal_3, Kosta Morr

Kosta Morr

Painting . 80 x 120 x 3 cm Painting . 31.5 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch

$483

Painting, Internal_2, Kosta Morr

Kosta Morr

Painting . 80 x 120 x 3 cm Painting . 31.5 x 47.2 x 1.2 inch

$483