Let me start off by acknowledging that there is no way I could possibly view every photo ever taken. Therefore, the photo I'll talk about in this post is only the most important one I could find out of all the ones I looked at, in my opinion. Someday after I see more images I may update or re-write a post like this with a new picture. But for now this is what I'll go with ;) . . .

The Criteria

When I started brainstorming this post I knew I'd have to have some set of criteria to guide the process. I wanted it to touch on what makes a picture important on a personal and an overall level. (Personal and overall relating to people in general.) In keeping with this idea the first item on my list is that the photo doesn't have to be my personal favorite and I don't even have to like it aesthetically. My goal here is find the most important picture of all time. Not my favorite picture of all time

My next criteria was the measure of human impact. The image should leave some kind of impression on the viewer. Not necessarily a specific emotion (though that would count), but definitely a lasting effect. It should be obvious that people were affected when the photo was released and that people are still being effected now. This is "of all time" after all! (Disclaimer, because I'm only one person I'll have to judge this category based on my own experience to a degree. That said I'll do my best to research and be objective to find images that impacted/impact most people!)

Finally, the photo should have had some historical impact. Change should have come in some way after people saw the photo. Whether the change was a new perspective, new knowledge, or a revolution! The picture should be important to history as well.

The Experience

I started by Googling "the most important picture ever taken." (Good to dive straight in, right?). The first response on the page was Photo 51. Photo 51 was extremely influential in the study of DNA by revealing that DNA has a 3D structure. (See the picture above.) However, the resounding response from that first page was Hubble's deep field shot from the 90's which showed us so much more of space than we knew before! Also, in the same vein were the photos taken by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) which gave us much more detailed images of space.

I have to admit, I was surprised that each of the first answers to come up were scientific. I was expecting more of a human life oriented image. But each of these do affect human life and were historically important for science and understanding! They also do have a varying level of human impact. Of all of these I think the JWST images had the most awe inspiring effect.

As I kept looking I found a lot of lists that contained photos from all throughout history. Each of them told such a different story! While I looked, I had many moments that made me smile and many more that left me mortified. I think the thing is, there are photos that were taken and impacted the world because we love them and there are photos that show the real and raw horror humans are capable of. The former show the best of us. The latter show the worst and these leave an impact in a way that’s harder to forget. I think these ones are also the ones that bring the most change. When we look at images that makes us happy, even especially joyful ones, we celebrate and love together and move on. But the harder to see ones are those that both stick in our minds and move us to do something.

The Honorable Mentions

Because there are countless photos, there's bound to be more than one that was significantly impactful on both people and the world at large. To honor some of them (and save me from having to really narrow it down to only one image ;P) here are a few of my favorite honorable mentions:

Admittedly, the first photo may be a bit of low hanging fruit. But it is important because it's the very first image ever taken! It's from this photo that every other image was built. That's certainly historical impact. The human impact is low unless you're a photographer or photo lover but the history adds weight so I decided to include it.

This photo was taken after Japan's surrender on V-J Day in 1945. The photo captures the absolute joy at WWII being over and the hope of peace to come. The photo impacted history by becoming an icon of that day. Many people think of this image when they think of V-J Day. It also has a great human impact because it inspires feelings of hope and excitement.

This photo was taken after a huge, violent attack on protestors in Tiananmen Square. The man stood in front of several tanks and refused to move in protest of the government's actions. Historically, this photo became a symbol of protest against authoritarianism. The human impact is derived from there in that when people view it this image they're inspired with feelings of righteous rebellion, horror over what happened, and resolve to stand for what's right.

The Picture

"Napalm Girl" is an image that clearly displays the horrors of war. It shows a terrified 9-year-old girl and other children running from a Napalm bomb attack. When it was released to the public in 1972 it became an icon of the Vietnam war. The photo fueled an already burning fire against the war. Today the image is still one that relays how terrible war is and why it should be fought against.

This is one of the photos that is hard to look at because of the shear raw emotion. It's impossible to not feel the impact. When it came out it fueled incredible protest against the Vietnam war. Today it continues to inspire horror, indignation, and anger toward atrocities. It has inspired many to do something in response. Historically and on a human level this photo demands change.

The power of photography as a tool is displayed in this image. Photography can take an instant and preserve every important part to store in history. Without photos we wouldn't be able to see what's really going on in the world.

To make a claim like "this is the most important picture of all time" is almost audacious. For one thing I can't have seen or known the impact of every photo. For another, how can I know that the impact of this photo is more impactful than another? So in the end, this post does come down to my opinion. I'd love to know your opinion! Do you agree or disagree? Is there another photo you would have included as an honorable mention?

Reach out below to let me know what you think!