I often see photographers dismissing colour photographs, in favour of black and white. They seem to think that black and white images are more important, more serious, more ‘artistic’, more about ‘photography’. I never understand why. I embrace both colour and black and white, therefore here are my top twenty photographers to check out, in no specific order, that prove my point that colour photography is not just for ‘holiday snaps’.

Further reading
https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2026/06/24/the-photography-canon-and-why-it-is-important-not-the-camera-brand/

William Eggleston https://egglestonartfoundation.org

Harry Gruyaert www.instagram.com/harry_gruyaert/?hl=en

Alex Webb https://webbnorriswebb.co

Niall McDiarmid www.niallmcdiarmid.com

Saul Leiter www.saulleiterfoundation.org

Sophie Green www.sophiegreenphotography.com

Guy Bourdin www.guybourdin.org

Franco Fontana https://francofontanaphotographer.com

Pete Turner www.peteturner.com

Fred Herzog www.equinoxgallery.com/our-artists/fred-herzog/

Viviane Sassen www.vivianesassen.com

Joel Meyerowitz www.joelmeyerowitz.com

Christopher Anderson https://christopherandersonphoto.com

Paolo Roversi www.instagram.com/Roversi/

Julie Hrudova https://juliehrudova.com

Ilona Langbroek www.ilonalangbroek.com

Sean Lotman www.seanlotman.com

Cecilia Di Paolo https://cecedipaolo.com

Arthur Meyerson https://arthurmeyerson.com

Ernst Hass https://ernst-haas.com

Dr.Grant Scott
After fifteen years art directing photography books and magazines such as Elle and Tatler, Scott began to work as a photographer for a number of advertising and editorial clients in 2000. Alongside his photographic career Scott has art directed numerous advertising campaigns, worked as a creative director at Sotheby’s, art directed foto8 magazine, founded his own photographic gallery, edited Professional Photographer magazine and launched his own title for photographers and filmmakers Hungry Eye. He founded the United Nations of Photography in 2012, and is now a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, and a BBC Radio contributor. Scott is the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019), What Does Photography Mean To You? (Bluecoat Press 2020) and Inside Vogue House: One building, seven magazines, sixty years of stories, (Orphans Publishing 2024). His photography has been published in At Home With The Makers of Style (Thames & Hudson 2006) and Crash Happy: A Night at The Bangers (Cafe Royal Books 2012). His film Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay was premiered in 2018.

© Grant Scott 2026

Image: Niall McDiarmid, Clapham Junction, South London, 2017