Women have made significant contributions to photography since its inception. Notable participants include:
Afghanistan Farzana Wahidy (born 1984), documentary photographer concentrating on women's issues in Afghanistan
Algeria Zohra Bensemra (born 1968), photojournalist
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan Rena Effendi (born 1977), interested in the environment, post-conflict society, the effects of oil industry on people and social disparity
Belarus Ottilia Reizman (1914–1986), documentary film and news photographer Tatsiana Tsyhanova (born 1978), portrait photographer
Belgium Charlotte Abramow (born 1993), photographer and filmmaker Marleen Daniels (born 1958), photojournalist turned fashion photographer Jennifer Des (born 1975), photographer Bieke Depoorter (born 1986), Magnum photographer, several photo books Martine Franck (1938–2012), documentary photographer and portrait photographer Cindy Frey (active since 2003), musical bands photographer Nathalie Gassel (born 1964), writer, photographer Aglaia Konrad (born 1960), photographer, educator Diana Lui (born 1968), Malaysian-Belgian artist, photographer Régine Mahaux (born 1967), celebrity photographer Germaine Van Parys (1893–1983), pioneering photojournalist who joined Le Soir in 1922 Marie-Françoise Plissart (born 1954), architecture photographer, videoartist Agnès Varda (1928–2019), film director, photographer, educator Eva Vermandel (born 1974), has photographed in Iceland and Ireland Katrien Vermeire (born 1979), photographer, filmmaker Stéphanie Windisch-Graetz (1939–2019), artistic portrait and animal photographer
Brazil Claudia Andujar (born 1931), Swiss-born Brazilian photographer and photojournalist Brígida Baltar (born 1959), visual artist and photographer Alice Brill (1920–2013), German-born Brazilian photographer and painter Angélica Dass (born 1979), photographer and lecturer Luiza Prado (born 1988), artist, photographer Rosângela Rennó (born 1962), artistic photographer Hildegard Rosenthal (1913–1990), German photographer noted for her work after emigration to Brazil Juliana Stein (born 1970), visual artist and photographer Cybèle Varela (born 1943), mixed-media artist Alice Dellal (born 1987), model, photographer
Cameroon Ginette Daleu (1977–2018), artist and photographer Angèle Etoundi Essamba (born 1962), humanist photographer of Africa
Canada
China (People's Republic)
Croatia Marija Braut (1929–2015), artistic photographer Sanja Iveković (born 1949), photographer, sculptor and installation artist, creating photographic works early in her career, earning her the Camera Austria Award Ivana Tomljenović-Meller (1906–1988), photographer, poster designer, and teacher who attended the Bauhaus
Cuba Marta María Pérez Bravo (born 1959), black-and-white photography expressing mythological beliefs Lissette Solorzano (born 1969), medical photographer, photojournalist, widely exhibited
Czechoslovakia, Czech Republic Bohumila Bloudilová (1876–1946), portrait photographer Irena Blühová (1904–1991), documentary photographer, student of the Bauhaus and Bratislava School of Fine Arts Veronika Bromová (born 1966), specialist in new media applications Anna Fárová (1928–2010), photography historian Eva Fuka (1927–2015), see United States Jitka Hanzlová (born 1958), portrait photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková (born 1952), diaristic photographer Běla Kolářová (1923–2010), Avant-garde photographer Markéta Luskačová (born 1944), social photographer, often covering children, also London's markets Emila Medková (1928–1985), influenced by surrealism Lucia Moholy (1894–1989), born in Prague, produced many of the photographs associated with the Bauhaus school, later working as a stage photographer in Berlin Marie Šechtlová (1928–2008), the poetry of the everyday Marie Tomanová (born 1984), portrait photographer, born in Valtice, since 2016 living in New York City
Democratic Republic of Congo
Gosette Lubondo (born 1993), photographer Pamela Tulizo (born 1994), photographer
Denmark
Egypt
Estonia Ina Bandy (1903–1973), Tallinn-born humanist photographer, later based in Paris Birgit Püve (born 1978), freelance photographer and photo editor Katrina Tang (born 1985), fashion and portrait photographer Ann Tenno (born 1952), landscape photographer and photo artist, noted for her photographs of Tallinn and the churches and manor houses of Estonia
Ethiopia Sheba Chhachhi (born 1958), photographer, filmmaker, artist Eyerusalem Jiregna (born 1993), photographer and photojournalist Aïda Muluneh (born 1974), photographer, photojournalist and contemporary artist
Finland Eija-Liisa Ahtila (born 1959), conceptual photographer and video artist Caroline Becker (1826–1881), the first professional female photographer in Finland Signe Brander (1869–1942), cityscapes of Helsinki Adele Enersen (fl 2010s), writer, photographer, blogger Elina Brotherus (born 1972), photographer, video artist Nanna Hänninen (born 1973), chaotic objects, urban landscapes, and plants with repainting Marja Helander (born 1965), Sámi photographer, artist and filmmaker Marjaana Kella (born 1961), portrait photographer and academic Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen (born 1948), has photographed the Newcastle district of Byker and created a Coal Coast series on the beach between Seaham and Hartlepool Meeri Koutaniemi (born 1987), photographer and journalist Tuija Lindström (1950–2017), photographer, artist and academic Susanna Majuri (1978–2020), captures short narrative scenes as if film stills Laura Malmivaara (born 1973), actress, photographer and television host Heli Rekula (born 1963), photographer and video maker Victoria Schultz (fl 1970s), photographer and documentary film producer Seita Vuorela (1971–2015), novelist and photographer Saana Wang (born 1979), fine art photographer Julia Widgrén (1842–1917), early female professional photographer
France
Gambia Khadija Saye (1992–2017)
Germany
Ghana
Felicia Abban (1935–2024), Ghana's first female professional photographer Josephine Kuuire artist, photographer, and activist
Greece Ianna Andreadis (born 1960), combines photography with her interest in archaeology, also landscapes from southern Africa Venia Bechrakis (fl 2000s), artist and fine art photographer Mary Kay (fl 2000s), landscape photographer Nelly's (1899–1998), noted for her Greek temples, Berlin Olympics, later advertising, photo-reportages in the United States Voula Papaioannou (1898–1990), photographer of Greek people and landscapes Mary Paraskeva (1882–1951), possibly the first Greek woman to have left a large photographic legacy from the beginning of the 20th century Athena Tacha (born 1936), conceptual photographer
Guatemala María Cristina Orive (1931–2017), photographer, reporter and photojournalist, co-founder of the La Azotea publishing the work of Latin American photographers
Holland
Hong Kong Nancy Sheung (1914–1979) Tang Ying Chi (born 1956), artist, curator, photographer Wong Wo Bik (graduated 1977), architectural photographer
Hungary Vivienne Balla (born 1986), fashion and fine art Ghitta Carell (1899–1972), Hungarian-born Italian portrait photographer Kati Horna (1912–2000), Hungarian-born Mexican photojournalist Judith Karasz (1912–1977), Bauhaus graduate Ergy Landau (1896–1967), Hungarian-born photographer, worked in Vienna, Berlin and latterly in Paris Mari Mahr (born 1941), Hungarian-British photographer Olga Máté (1878–1961), early portrait photographer Ylla (born Camilla Koffler) (1911–1955), first to specialize in animal portraiture
Iceland Hansína Regína Björnsdóttir (1884–1972) María Guðmundsdóttir (born 1942), filmmaker, photographer and actress Nicoline Weywadt (1848–1921), pioneering female photographer Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir (born 1978), whose work posted to Flickr led to employment in advertising campaigns
India Sonal Ambani (fl 2000s), writer, artist and photographer Rita Banerji (fl 2000s), writer, photographer and gender activist Dimpy Bhalotia (born 1987), street photographer Pamella Bordes (born 1961), worked as an international photojournalist for Gamma Press Photos, exhibitions include notable images from India and Cambodia, also self-portraits Sue Darlow (1960–2011), photographer in the UK and India Serin George (fl 2000s), fashion photographer and model Gauri Gill (born 1970), contemporary photographer Li Gotami Govinda (1906–1988), painter, photographer, writer and composer Indrani (born mid-1980s, Kolkata), full name Indrani Pal-Chaudhuri, India's best known fashion photographer, based in New York, known for her celebrity portraits such as David Bowie, Iman, Beyoncé, Kate Winslet, Will Smith, Lady Gaga, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, also known as a Tribeca Film Festival Award-winning film director Saadiya Kochar (born 1979), first worked with the human body, portraits and then documentary (Kashmir) Ashagi Lamiya (born 1989), artist, photographer and actress Richa Maheshwari (born 1988), fashion and lifestyle photographer based in New Delhi Pushpamala N. (born 1956), photographer and visual artist Latika Nath (fl 2000s), writer, photographer and wildlife conservationist Rathika Ramasamy, India's first woman wildlife photographer, particularly of birds Ketaki Sheth (born 1957), photographer and writer Dayanita Singh (born 1961), first photojournalism, later portraits and documentary work including Goa Shobha Deepak Singh (born 1943), photographer, writer and dancer Sooni Taraporevala (born 1957), screenwriter also working in photography, especially of India's Parsi Zoroastrian community Hema Upadhyay (1972–2015), photographer and installation artist Ajita Suchitra Veera (fl 2000s), film director, writer and photographer Homai Vyarawalla (1913–2012), India's first woman photojournalist, covered celebrities including Gandhi, Nehru, Jinnah and Indira Gandhi Annapurna Dutta (1894–1976), one of India's earliest professional female photographers; her photos featured Sarojini Naidu and others
Iran Sahar Ajdamsani (born 1996), singer, writer, photographer Fatemeh Behboudi (born 1985), photojournalist and documentary photographer Parisa Damandan (born 1967), has collected portrait photographs illustrating the history of Isfahan, continuing her work after the 2003 Bam earthquake Solmaz Daryani (born 1989), photographer and photojournalist Zahra Amir Ebrahimi (born 1981), photographer, television actress and short movies director Shadi Ghadirian (born 1974), portraits of women dressed in traditional style, often juxtaposed with modern anomalies such as a mountain bike or cola can, now increasingly exhibited in the west Hengameh Golestan (born 1952), pioneering woman photographer Sooreh Hera (born 1973), artist and photographer Zahra Kazemi (1948–2003), Iranian-Canadian freeland photojournalist who died following arrest in Iran after covering poverty, destitutions and oppression in the Middle East Sanaz Mazinani (born 1978), Iranian-Canadian photographer and curator, installation based photography Shirin Neshat (born 1957), photos of women confronted by Islamic fundamentalism, later working with multimedia and film Ashraf os-Saltaneh (1863–1914), first woman photographer of Iran Shirana Shahbazi (born 1974), conceptual photography, installations Newsha Tavakolian (born 1981), Iranian documentary photographer Maryam Zandi (born 1947), founding board member of Iran's National Society of Photographers, has published many calendars of Iranian portraits
Iraq Halla Ayla (born 1957), photographer, painter
Ireland
Rhiannon Adam (born 1985) Elizabeth Hawkins-Whitshed (1860–1934), mountaineer, writer and photographer Joan Kennelly (died 2007), photographer and photojournalist Jane Shackleton (1843–1909), pioneering Irish photographer Helen Sloan (active since 1994), still and film photographer, known for photographing the TV series Game of Thrones
Israel Lili Almog (born 1961), photographer and mixed media artist