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, Know Your Enemy, Liu Hsing Yu

Liu Hsing Yu

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

$2,251

Photography, Freedom, Rodrigo

Rodrigo

Photography . 26.7 x 35.6 x 0.1 cm Photography . 10.5 x 14 x 0 inch

$2,368

Photography, Divergence (M), Streety

Streety

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

$415

Photography, Idealen, Gabriel Baxas

Gabriel Baxas

Photography . 30 x 41 x 0.1 cm Photography . 11.8 x 16.1 x 0 inch

$533

Photography, AD06, Jan Nomis

Jan Nomis

Photography . 38 x 48 x 1 cm Photography . 15 x 18.9 x 0.4 inch

$332

Photography, Pixelito II, Colomba Pino

Colomba Pino

Photography . 22 x 33.5 cm Photography . 8.7 x 13.2 inch

$829

Photography, Parade, Emilie Mori

Emilie Mori

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

$1,066

Photography, Univers Partagé, Paul Marnef

Paul Marnef

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

$1,060

Photography, Motel, Nicolas Boutruche

Nicolas Boutruche

Photography . 100 x 250 x 2 cm Photography . 39.4 x 98.4 x 0.8 inch

$21,561

Photography, Bum Chain, Tony Potts

Tony Potts

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

$2,061

Photography, Soleil Un, Gabriel Baxas

Gabriel Baxas

Photography . 41 x 30 x 0.1 cm Photography . 16.1 x 11.8 x 0 inch

$533

Photography, Mathildenpassage, Klaus Frahm

Klaus Frahm

Photography . 30 x 40.5 x 0.1 cm Photography . 11.8 x 15.9 x 0 inch

$1,718

Photography, Untitled, Jack Daly

Jack Daly

Photography . 101.6 x 154.2 x 0.2 cm Photography . 40 x 60.7 x 0.1 inch

$7,460

Photography, Green Room, Vivien Raynal

Vivien Raynal

Photography . 20 x 30 x 1 cm Photography . 7.9 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch

$415

Photography, Leaning Man, Edmund Sumner

Edmund Sumner

Photography . 59.8 x 47.5 x 0.1 cm Photography . 23.5 x 18.7 x 0 inch

$3,020

Photography, Sana, Cécile Baldewyns

Cécile Baldewyns

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

$829

Photography, À Gauche, Gabriel Baxas

Gabriel Baxas

Photography . 30 x 41 x 0.1 cm Photography . 11.8 x 16.1 x 0 inch

$533

Photography, Still, Nilgun Sezgin

Nilgun Sezgin

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

$267

Photography, Illusion, Tanguy Mendrisse

Tanguy Mendrisse

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

$190

Photography, AV_Adria_023, Bernhard Lang

Bernhard Lang

Photography . 84 x 120 x 0.5 cm Photography . 33.1 x 47.2 x 0.2 inch

$2,357

Photography, Time Travel, Soohyun Kim

Soohyun Kim

Photography . 60.96 x 40.64 x 1 cm Photography . 24 x 16 x 0.4 inch

$770

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

$5,209

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

$1,422

Photography, #11, Julien Espiaut

#11

Julien Espiaut

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

$225

Photography, Ivresse, Yuhao Pan

Yuhao Pan

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

$1,422

Photography, Beetle II, Feng Wang

Feng Wang

Photography . 50 x 55 x 1 cm Photography . 19.7 x 21.7 x 0.4 inch

$1,540

Photography, Inspiration, Rodolfo Franchi

Rodolfo Franchi

Photography . 45 x 30 x 1 cm Photography . 17.7 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch

$663

Photography, #2, Romane Grammond

#2

Romane Grammond

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

$178

Photography, Dancers, Ken Heyman

Ken Heyman

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

$5,209

Photography, Brasil I, João Luiz Bulcão

João Luiz Bulcão

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

$770

Photography, Hastag, Stéphane Lanoux

Stéphane Lanoux

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

$462

Photography, Ensayo, James Sparshatt

James Sparshatt

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

$1,143

Photography, Echo, Yuhao Pan

Yuhao Pan

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

$1,422