Rating All-Time Great Photographers

I came up with a theory that all photographers exist on this graph. The x-axis is between "sad sack" and "weirdo." The y-axis is between rich & poor.

INDEX
0:00 - What is this graph and what do the axes mean?
0:35 - Where does Zach Dobson fall on this graph?
0:57 - Quadrant 3: Poor Sad Sack. Common for photojournalists & street photographers
8:16 - Quadrant 1: Rich Weirdo. Many fine art photographers belong here.
16:06 - Quadrant 4: Poor Weirdo. Artsy photographers who weren't born rich.
23:32 - Quadrant 2: Rich Sad Sack. Many here started with money and wanted to help others.
31:18 - Origin: There is one photographer in the center. Who is she??

People seemed to respond & identify with this when I posted it on social media, so I decided to plot famous photographers on the graph.

Some people don't know what "sad sack" means. I always say, "think Charlie Brown." Sort of a lovable, grumpy curmudgeon-type.

Also, to clear up a common misperception: the origin (center point of the graph) is NOT "normal" and "middle class." I believe that NO photographer is normal, so the center point is half weirdo, half sad sack. It's also getting by financially as a photographer. I'd say if you're a photographer making a middle class living, you're actually kind of rich, so you're a little higher on the y-axis.

This is just for fun! I love all these photographers and think highly of most of them.

Leave a comment and let me know who I missed and where you think they fall on the graph!

Here’s a list of photographers so people can look more into their work!

Garry Winogrand
Ernest Cole
Robert Capa
Weegee
Helen Levitt
Dorothea Lange
Slim Aarons
Mary Ellen Mark
Bruce Gilden
Martin Chambi
Vivian Maier
Nan Goldin
Annie Leibovitz
William Eggleston
Carlos Relvas
Anne Geddes
Gordon Parks
Robert Mapplethorpe
Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Daido Moriyama
Inge Morath
Cindy Sherman
Eiko Yamazawa
Adger Cowans
Ming Smith
Stephen Shore
Lars Tunbjörk
Jesse Tarbox Beals
Robert Frank
Joel-Peter Witkin
James Luna
Man Ray
Catherine Leroy
Malick Sidibe
Jacob Riis
Miroslav Tichý
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Sebastião Salgado
Toni Frissell
Carrie Mae Weems
Ansel Adams
Richard Avedon
Gregory Crewdson
Lee Friedlander
Edward Weston
Fan Ho
Flor Garduño
Graciela Iturbide
Diane Arbus
Sabine Weiss


#photography #photographer #zachdobsonphoto #streetphotography #artphotography #portraitphotography #fashionphotography #photojournalism