photographer

American  

[fuh-tog-ruh-fer] / fəˈtɒg rə fər /

noun

• photographers
  plural

1. a person who takes photographs, especially one who practices photography professionally.

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photographer British  

/ fəˈtɒɡrəfə /

noun

1. a person who takes photographs, either as a hobby or a profession

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• photographers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of photographer

First recorded in 1840–50; photograph + -er ¹

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Explanation

Do you frequently take pictures with a camera? Then you're a photographer. It's especially common to call someone a photographer if they do this as a paid job. Soon after photography was invented in the 19th century, people who were passionate about this new art form came along — the first photographers. In the 1840s, they were also known as photographists. The process of making photographs has become less complicated over the years, but photographers remain just as enthusiastic about it. Whether you take photos as a hobby or hang your shingle as a professional, go right ahead and call yourself a photographer.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

photographer photographers

Jamie Lafferty is a writer and photographer from Glasgow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

And when I emailed a wedding photographer whose Instagram feed seemed perfectly curated to how I envision our special day, he quoted me $30,000 for a starter package.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026

They also acquired a work by Shaniqwa Jarvis, a photographer with a two-decade career who was beginning to enter major museum collections.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

Victoria Welton, a photographer based in Crewkerne, works across 15 schools and nurseries in Somerset.

From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026

Frank Hurley, the twenty-four-year-old photographer, had been to the Antarctic with an explorer named Douglas Mawson, and was a key member because of the financial backing he could attract.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

Syntagma Square, in the heart of the Greek capital, was closed to traffic, with a heavy police presence to beef up security, AFP photographers saw.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

It found global fame after featuring in a scene of the 1991 film Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner, and was popular with photographers and artists.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

On Monday, the New York Times and the Washington Post said they wouldn’t publish or distribute still images for the day taken by their photographers who were part of the pool.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

There are separate pools for TV, photographers and print and radio outlets, as well as a "new media" category.

From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026

Nor did he supply the darkroom facilities that hotels closest to Jackson Park had begun installing to serve the growing number of amateur photographers, so-called “Kodak fiends,” who carried the newest portable cameras.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

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