Best Fine Art Photographers in Philadelphia

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what fine art photography means but chances are you will know it when you see it. It’s images that reflect the unique vision of the artist behind the lens, expressing an idea, message or emotion without using words.

Amongst Philadelphia’s vibrant arts community, you’ll find several outstanding fine art photographers who have made the genre their own. In this article, we’ll introduce 7 whose work stands out from the rest.

Nadine Rovner

After completing a BFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts, Nadine Rovner has established a name as one of the top fine art photographers in Philadelphia. She’s had solo exhibitions at several galleries throughout the city, as well as being published in the “PDN Emerging Photographer Magazine”, “The New Yorker”, and “The Collector’s Guide to Emerging Art Photography”. We particularly love her vividly-colored “Road Trip” series, which captures the aesthetics and rituals of an American road trip with images set in diners, motels, and vintage vehicles.

Matthew Bender

Born in Lancaster County, Matthew Bender now lives in Philadelphia but regularly travels to New York City for work. His images often delve into deeper stories about the state of America, such as “The Waste Stream” series. Each image was taken at a “former industrial site that has been repurposed for non-industrial usage by humans”, with site-specific pinhole lenses created using pieces of consumer waste found at the location. Matthew’s photography often highlights forgotten stories or places with a whimsical, dream-like aesthetic.

Mouse Photography

Jennifer Louise is the photographer behind Mouse Photography, which specializes in fine art and double exposure photography. She holds a Certificate in Professional Photography from the New York Institute of Photography and is a skilled landscape and macro photographer. She says: "I have always been drawn to the beautiful details we see in our every day. These details become still frames in my mind, that at a young age I knew I needed to capture in a more tangible way.” In one of Jennifer’s latest series “Altered States”, she explores double and triple exposed photography and investigates how “shape and pattern in urban life and nature can be manipulated to create a new form”.

R. Alexander Trejo

Alex is a Philadelphia native who began taking photos throughout the city as a teenager. It was while working as an architect that he discovered his true passion for photography and he decided to take a course at the University of Arts. After several years spent studying the work of innovative photographers such as Stieglitz and Steichen, Alex has developed a style that is all his own, combining architecture, photography, and other forms of illustrative and surreal art. Through his variations in the use of aperture and shutter speed, he creates changing moods and regularly captures blends of both cityscapes and the natural world in monochrome.

Thomas Brummett

Thomas Brummett graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in 1983 and has been working as a fine art and commercial photographer ever since. He’s won countless awards and has been recognized as one of the best in the world by the World Photography Award and International Photography Awards, as well as having a French postal stamp created from one of his images. Thomas’s work has been exhibited at The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Cranbrook Museum of Art, and The Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, as well as being published by Gallerie Karsten Greve in “Of Earth, Heaven, and Light”.

Rachel Gregory Photography

Working with clients throughout Philadelphia and beyond, Rachel Gregory is an award-winning newborn, maternity, and family photographer with a fine art edge. She says that she’s been passionate about photography since receiving her first 35mm camera as a 14-year-old and graduated with a BFA in Photography in 2005. She works alongside her husband, Kevin, to capture gorgeous images that have been published in “People Magazine” and “Schuylkill Living Magazine”. We love Rachel’s muted tones and natural posing techniques, as well as her choice of whimsical props for newborn portrait sessions.

Armond Scavo Photography

Hailing from the Italian area of South Philadelphia, Armond says that he was attracted to color from an early age after being exposed to the paintings of the Impressionists. He says that this (together with his love of Western movies) contributed to his artistic vision and he describes himself as a “colorist”. Armond studied at the Tyler School of Art, The Philadelphia College of Art, the Fleisher Art Memorial, and the Community College of Philadelphia, working with some of the leading photographers of the time. Since 1968, he has taught photography and darkroom techniques to other aspiring photographers and has received numerous awards and honors for his commitment to the industry.

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