Talented Photographer Lord Snowdon Has Died

Lord Snowdon, a man who married a princess and had a very successful career as a photographer, has died at the age of 86. 

He will always be remembered, by many, for famously marrying Princess Margaret but it's his successful career as a photographer and filmmaker we'd like to talk about.

His career as a photographer began shortly after he left University where he worked in fashion, design and theatre. He opened his first studio in 1952 and later became known for his royal portraits with him capturing, among others, the official portraits of the Duke of Edinburgh and Queen Elizabeth II for their 1957 tour of Canada. 

Lord Snowdon was the artistic adviser for the Sunday Times magazine in the early 1960s and by the 1970s, he had become a very respected photographer with work appearing in Vogue, Vanity Fair and other well-known titles. A champion for disabled people, his portfolio of work included documentary-style photos of the mentally ill but it's his portraits of famous people most talk about. 

The Royal Photographic Society awarded Lord Snowdon an Honorary Fellowship in 1968 and he was also awarded a Hood Medal in 1978 which is given to those who create 'a body of photographic work produced to promote or raise awareness of an aspect of public benefit or service.' A few years later, in 1985, the Society awarded him a Progress Medal. 

In 2000, the National Portrait Gallery gave Lord Snowdon a retrospective exhibition and the gallery actually has more than 100 of his portraits in its collection.