photographer
Americannoun
-
photographers
plural
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:
Associated Press photographer Jehad Alshrafi took the Young Reporter photography prize for his series "Endless War and Devastation in Gaza".
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
Victoria Welton, a photographer based in Crewkerne, works across 15 schools and nurseries in Somerset.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
“Good design is seldom accepted. It has to be sold,” Midcentury photographer Julius Shulman is quoted as saying in the catalog.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Our group — two reporters, a photographer and a video journalist — went through security and, camera rolling, wound our way through the maze of the midcentury building.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
To my delight, they agreed and allowed Ian to be in the same room with an outside photographer.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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
Dr Konyak points to explorers, colonial officials, missionaries and photographers drawn to tattooed faces, ornaments, weapons and headhunting, while the lives behind them often receded from view.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 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
They discovered that security was slapdash, paintings were moved without authorization, and the museum photographers ran the place.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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.
