photographer
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of photographer
First recorded in 1840–50; photograph + -er 1
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
When scuba diver and underwater photographer Ross McLaren encountered a jellyfish for the first time, he said all he felt was "sheer terror".
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
A photographer and fixture in the L.A. punk scene by 14, the fact that she didn’t play an instrument was a minor hurdle when she joined L7 in 1986.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
Some ground-level history does make its way in, as in two sections where Mr. Dillon discusses the work of Xue Baoqi, a 1960s photographer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
He served as a photographer in Germany during the Korean War and joined his father at Disney following his 1952 discharge from the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026
A few years into Pauline Hawthorne’s career, her photographs had been selling for tens of thousands—quite a lot for a photographer of that time, let alone a woman.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
In Chapineria, west of Madrid, the flames had torn through dozens of vehicles at an industrial park, leaving charred shells behind, AFP photographers saw.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
Metres away, other photographers yelled instructions to ornately dressed young women who held their fingers in victory signs and arched their backs for the camera.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
With pictures of presidents, war, triumph and more, photographers have captured pivotal moments of our history and altered the country’s public consciousness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
The pumps are blowing air in the water to kill the algae with oxygen; the only ducks I saw were lined up at the edge, refusing to jump in even when approached by photographers.
From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2026
As the six of us lined up in our red-white-and-blue tracksuits, beaming as photographers snapped our team portrait, all I could think was, Finally!
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
