Women's History Month: 3 Influential Female Photographers Whose Names And Work You Should Know

March is almost over, but I wouldn't want it to pass without paying homage to three woman who had a profound influence on the world of photography. In doing so, I'd like to tell you how I turned a group of Yeshiva girls into photography enthusiasts.

A few years ago, I taught photography at Bruriah, high school for Orthodox Jewish Girls in New Jersey. It was an elective for 9th graders, a class about seeing. It was very different from the other courses they were taking. I called it "exercise class for the right side of the brain."

On the final day of class, I wanted to give them some inspiration that they could take with them beyond the classroom. I introduced them to three female photographers who were trial blazers, influencers, and maybe, roll models. There are so many more, but we only had 35 minutes.

"World's Highest Standard of Living" by Margaret Bourke-White. Public Domain via Wikipedia.

1. Margaret Bourke-White

Margaret Bourke-White's photo of the Dam at Fort Peck, Montana appeared on the cover of the first issue of LIFE magazine in 1936; she would go on to make a name for herself in both architecture photography to photojournaism. Most notably, she was one of the first photographers to photograph the Buchenwald concentration camp right after it was liberated by American troops. She would photograph the Soviet Union, the Korean War, India-Pakistan violence and much more for LIFE. Her career was cut short by Parkinsons in 1953, but as one of the first women to work in photojournalism, she was a ground-breaking pioneer.

"Untitled Film Still #23" © by Cindy Sherman, fair use for educational purposes, via Wikimedia Creative Commons

2. Cindy Sherman

How do you get the attention of 14-year-old girls? Tell them Cindy Sherman was the inventor of the Selfie. In a way, she was. She turned the self-portrait into a conceptual art form, setting up scenarios and using outfits, wigs and makeup to transform herself into characters in film-like scenarios. Her photos would challenge the viewer's thinking about women's roles and stereotypes. 

"Chicago, August 1975" by Vivian Maier, © Maloof Collection, Ltd. Fair use for educational purposes.

3. Vivian Maier

One of the greatest photographers of the 20th century was an enigma. She worked in obscurity for her entire life; her photos were discovered shortly after she died in 2009. A nanny living with a family in Chicago for many years, Vivian Maier would spend her off days doing street photography in Chicago, traveling to New York and elsewhere, secretly creating a collection of incisive documents of humanity in over 150,000 photographs.  According to John Maloof, who found and curates many of her photos, Maier "was constantly taking pictures, which she didn't show anyone." Many details of her life are not known, but her photography sent shockwaves around the art world. The documentary film "Finding Vivian Maier" is highly recommended viewing.

My lesson ended with the following advice: "Be like Vivian Maier: Constantly take pictures. And, DON'T be like Vivian Maier. Make prints. Share your work. Use photography as a creative outlet and a way to communicate and break the ice. Now, go out and take pictures!"

The girls gave me a round of applause.

Class dissmissed.