While you’re likely more familiar with the fashion icons who grace the covers of magazines, the fashion industry wouldn’t be much if it weren’t for the fashion photographers who capture all this beauty. The world’s most iconic fashion photographers have spent their lives dedicated to bringing fashion to life and have the power to transform mere mortals into mystifying, otherworldly creatures.

The work of these 5 fashion photographers is so renowned that every fashion model dreams of holding a place in their portfolios.

Mario Testino

Born in Peru in 1954, Mario Testino has earned his place amongst the best fashion photographers by capturing some of the world’s most influential people.

From Madonna and Lady Gaga to Gisele Bündchen and Kate Moss, you would be hard-pressed to come up with a famous face Testino hasn’t had the honour of photographing. He was even chosen to photograph Princess Diana for Vanity Fair magazine just months before her tragic passing. So influential is Testino’s work that he was awarded an honorary OBE.

Steven Meisel

The fact that Steven Meisel is rarely interviewed or photographed only makes him even more of an enigmatic character. Credited with discovering or fostering the careers of many famous models including Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, and Lara Stone, the impact of Meisel on the fashion industry is undeniable.

Since 1988, Meisel has photographed every single Vogue Italia cover and every Prada campaign since 2004.

Annie Leibovitz

World-renowned for her profound portraits of athletes, politicians, musicians, and actors, Annie Leibovitz is also an incredibly prolific and successful fashion photographer. Starting her career at Vogue in 1988, she became the first woman to hold an exhibition at Washington’s National Portrait Gallery in 1991.

Leibovitz has since become particularly celebrated for her extravagant and highly-detailed fashion shoots and has extensive magazine work to her name. She has also shot an incredible number of advertising campaigns for major fashion labels such as Roberto Cavalli, Dior, Bulgari, and Prada.

Patrick Demarchelier

Born in France in 1943, Patrick Demarchelier is one of the world’s most significant fashion photographers owing to his striking signature style.

Particularly well-known for the images of Christy Turlington which appeared in British Vogue in 1992 and Nadja Auermann for Harper’s Bazaar in 1994, Demarchelier has shot almost every top model and created advertising campaigns for Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, and Chanel. In 1989, he even became the official photographer of Princess Diana of Wales.

Herb Ritts

Most celebrated for his work in the 1980s and 1990s, the fashion photography of Herb Ritts became an international sensation thanks to his distinctive black and white photographs. Both bold and minimalistic, Ritts’ photographs were unlike anything the fashion world had seen before and he skyrocketed to fame and fortune.

Having photographed the biggest names of the time including Cindy Crawford, Stephanie Seymour, and Naomi Campbell, Ritts shot work for almost every single major fashion magazine. Unfortunately, Ritts died in 2002 of complications from pneumonia at the age of 50.