Famous photographers share their thoughts and inspiration

"Famous" is a subjective term, and perhaps never more so than when discussing photographers and their works. However, whether working in documentary, portraiture, wildlife, architecture or beyond, there's no shortage of Canon-shooting famous photographers who have gained recognition in their fields.

Earning this level of career success isn't easy, and many of those who boast prestigious accolades and commissions have learnt their craft and their business acumen the hard way. As such, they have a wealth of advice, inspiration and reflections on their passions that are well worth reading.

Read quotes from:

• Brent Stirton
• Daniel Etter
• Diana Markosian
• Sir Don McCullin
• Ilvy Njiokiktjien
• Fernando Guerra
• Laura El-Tantawy
• Martin Parr
• Robert Marc Lehmann
• Sebastião Salgado
• Tim Flach

Brent's images speak powerfully about the world around us. The South African documentary photographer and Canon Ambassador has won multiple World Press Photo of the Year awards and Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his emotive work.

As one of the best-known and most highly respected photographers in the world right now, Brent's thoughts on the importance of photography are poignant. "Photography is the best medium to transcend language and cultural barriers, and it's probably the most democratic means of communication in the world," he says. "It's traditionally something that most of us around the planet can immediately grasp and understand through our common humanity. That said, we are in the age of artificial intelligence and that means that photojournalism needs to be more protected and recognisable as truth-telling than ever before. Good photojournalism has too much power for good for us not to safeguard it."

• Read Brent Stirton's Canon Ambassador profile

Photojournalist and Canon Ambassador Daniel's hard-hitting photographs are regularly published by prestigious global publications and NGOs. He also writes and makes films, and has mentored numerous student photographers on Canon's Student Development Programme at Visa pour l'Image.

"If you want to photograph journalistic stories, start close to home," advises Daniel to aspiring professionals. "Look around and try to figure out what you have access to. Are you part of a subculture? Great, take me there! What is the biggest social conflict in your hometown? Photograph behind the scenes, all the things other people normally don't see. Show it in a way that is surprising."

Armenian-American documentarian Diana creates multimedia projects that explore deeply personal stories. She regularly contributes to top publications, has won a World Press Photo Award and Magnum Photos nomination, and been named in MoMA's Favorite 10 Photo Books and TIME's Best Photo Books. She told us her best career advice came from 1995 indie film Smoke by Wayne Wang and Paul Auster, where one character tells a photographer, "You'll never get it if you don't slow down, my friend."

"It honestly felt life-changing," she recalls. "As a photographer, I think I was so used to being in a state of responding and reacting to everything. This passage in Smoke shifted my perspective of what photography meant to me. It wasn't about responding any more, it was really about being present and being able to stand still in that present."

British war photography veteran Sir Don is one of the world's greatest living photojournalists, having chronicled conflicts and social issues for more than 50 years. He has been the subject of retrospective exhibitions and films, with many of his images claiming the right to be labelled 'iconic'.

Multimedia journalist and Canon Ambassador Ilvy is a VII photo agency member who works all over the world on assignments for major global publishers and NGOs. She has also hosted a multimedia exhibition of her work and has won numerous awards including a World Press Photo award and the Canon Female Photojournalist Award at Visa pour l'Image.

"I always have the feeling that people think that 'being a good photographer' means being technically good," she says. "Of course it is good to know some of the basics, but I feel a better quality to have is being interested in others, being kind, being curious, not being pushy towards others, but at the same time pushing yourself forwards. Keep going when you get a 'no'. Being able to balance these skills with knowledge of your camera is, I think, the best way to become successful."

With a background in architecture, Canon Ambassador Fernando brings a trained eye to the structures he captures, earning him renown and commissions with fantastic practices the world over. He has hosted solo exhibitions of his work and been named Architectural Photographer of the Year.

British-Egyptian photographer and Canon Ambassador Laura explores ideas around belonging and identity, often in impressionistic and abstract ways. Her work has been displayed in both group and solo exhibitions worldwide and has been published in some of the most famous newspapers and magazines, as well as in self-published monographs.

"Every generation of photographers – past, present and future – have and will continue to face adversity; it comes with the territory," she says. "This is partly because the medium moves in tandem with technology. Any time a new technology is introduced, the work of photographers and the continued existence of photographers is compromised. We are currently navigating the clear and present challenge of AI and its breach of the medium.

"When I was studying journalism and photography, my professors would tell us that the medium is dead. Imagine hearing that as a young dreamer with aspirations to take on the world! Yet here we are today – still creating, growing and discovering."

British documentary photographer Martin has an instantly recognisable style, which has earned him fame the world over for his unique perspectives on the peoples and places he captures. His Martin Parr Foundation aims to encourage other British documentary photography work.

"In order for me to sell a 50x76cm print for a sum like £4,000 (over €4,500), you need to have a good print," he says of his craft. "Therefore, my prime motivation is to get the technique sorted so that the print looks beautiful when you see it on the wall – it's sharp, the colours are right, the palette is good, it's balanced. Everything about it works. And it looks beautiful enough for someone to want to buy it. So yes, you have to have the technique to back up what you're saying and that's why I take having a good file and a good quality resolution very seriously. It's like a language: the more verbs and nouns you understand, the better your chance of articulating exactly what you want to say."

Passionate conservationist and Canon Ambassador Robert has been featured in famous publications and won awards including National Geographic Photographer of the Year.

"I have seen a lot of our planet – more than 120 countries," he shares. "Wonderful places, horrible places, places that most people would never or can never go to. People need to know what's left to be protected and they also need to know what impact they have on our planet – the impact 15,000km away from the food in the supermarket. So I had no other choice than to become a good photographer and filmmaker, because everything not photographed or filmed never happened! A silly saying, but there is some truth to it. This is also true for the animals and ecosystems I love so much: everything not saved, will be lost."

Brazilian documentary heavyweight Sebastião is famous for his black and white imagery documenting key historical events, often told through a long-term, nuanced perspective. The former Magnum Photos member has worked in photography for more than 50 years, and across more than 120 countries.

"The time spent photographing in the field is only one percent of the time [working on my projects]," he says. "The time I take to consider – to prepare, to design, to have the concept – is a full lifetime. That's the point of photography."

British photographer Tim photographs wildlife with a difference, often in a studio, bringing a portraiture perspective to showing diverse species.