--- title: The Most Influential Photos of All Time and LIFE Magazine description: These images from LIFE Magazine have made the list of the 100 most influential photographs of all time canonical: https://time.com/4576764/life-magazine-100-photos/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-18T19:07:33.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:59:18.949Z og:title: The Most Influential Photos of All Time and LIFE Magazine og:description: These images from LIFE Magazine have made the list of the 100 most influential photographs of all time og:url: https://time.com/4576764/life-magazine-100-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58cc2f5ebd267171/6988af10f887dc013fe9845c/eisenstaedt-vj-day.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: VJ DAY og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Most Influential Photos of All Time and LIFE Magazine twitter:description: These images from LIFE Magazine have made the list of the 100 most influential photographs of all time twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58cc2f5ebd267171/6988af10f887dc013fe9845c/eisenstaedt-vj-day.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # LIFE Magazine and the Most Influential Photos of All Time by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Nov 18, 2016 7:07 PM CUT  On August 14, 1945 — VJ Day — a jubilant sailor plants a kiss on a nurse in Times Square to celebrate the Allies' long- awaited World War II victory over Japan. Originally published (not as a cover shot, as most people assume today, but as just one in a series of "VJ Day victory celebration" images featured in the middle of the magazine) in the August 27, 1945, issue of LIFE. On August 14, 1945 — VJ Day — a jubilant sailor plants a kiss on a nurse in Times Square to celebrate the Allies' long- awaited World War II victory over Japan. Originally published (not as a cover shot, as most people assume today, but as just one in a series of "VJ Day victory celebration" images featured in the middle of the magazine) in the August 27, 1945, issue of LIFE.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Nov 18, 2016 7:07 PM CUT When TIME’s photo team set out to create a list of [the 100 most influential photographs of all time](http://100photos.time.com/ "undefined"), everyone involved knew it would be a massive undertaking. But the project, which [launched on Thursday](http://100photos.time.com/about "undefined"), truly took on a life of its own, as an international team of experts collaborated to tell the story of how the medium of photography has not only captured our world, but also shaped our history. Though LIFE published as a weekly for less than 40 years, its embrace of the power of photography led it to have a disproportionate impact on the history of the medium. So it should come as no surprise that several of the images in that list of 100 were either taken by LIFE staff photographers or otherwise bear a strong connection to the magazine. Here are a few of those stories: **Fort Peck Dam** **(1936):** The very first image to appear on the cover of LIFE, Margaret Bourke-White’s photograph of the New Deal project set the tone for what was to come. [_Read more here_](http://100photos.time.com/photos/margaret-bourke-white-fort-peck-dam "undefined") **V-J Day in Times Square (1945):** Alfred Eisenstaedt’s picture of the jubilation that marked the end of World War II would go on to become one of American photography’s most recognizable—and controversial—milestones. [_Read more here_](http://100photos.time.com/photos/kiss-v-j-day-times-square-alfred-eisenstaedt "undefined") **Gandhi and the Spinning Wheel (1946):** Margaret Bourke-White visited the icon for a LIFE feature about India’s leadership. [_Read more here_](http://100photos.time.com/photos/margaret-bourke-white-gandhi-spinning-wheel "undefined") **Dalí Atomicus (1948):** Philippe Halsman, who defied convention with his portraits of the artist Salvador Dalí, would end up shooting more than 100 covers for LIFE. [_Read more here_](http://100photos.time.com/photos/philippe-halsman-dali-atomicus "undefined") **Country Doctor (1948):** W. Eugene Smith spent nearly a month with a Colorado doctor and produced a series that defined the photo essay as a genre. [_Read more here_](http://100photos.time.com/photos/country-doctor-w-eugene-smith "undefined") **JFK Assassination, Frame 313 (1963):** Still frames from Abraham Zapruder’s home movie of the killing of President Kennedy appeared in the pages of LIFE after editor Richard Stolley flew to Dallas to track down the amateur videographer. [_Read more here_](http://100photos.time.com/photos/jfk-assassination-abraham-zapruder-frame-313 "undefined") **Black Power Salute** **(1968):** John Dominis shot Gold medalist Tommie Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos during a medal ceremony at the Mexico City Olympics. [_Read more here_](http://100photos.time.com/photos/john-dominis-black-power-salute "undefined")  ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4576764/life-magazine-100-photos/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4576764/life-magazine-100-photos/"},"headline":"LIFE Magazine and the Most Influential Photos of All Time","datePublished":"2016-11-18T19:07:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:59:18.949Z","description":"These images from LIFE Magazine made the list","url":"https://time.com/4576764/life-magazine-100-photos/","keywords":["photography"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58cc2f5ebd267171/6988af10f887dc013fe9845c/eisenstaedt-vj-day.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt58cc2f5ebd267171/6988af10f887dc013fe9845c/eisenstaedt-vj-day.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"VJ DAY","caption":"VJ DAY","creditText":"Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/photography/","name":"photography"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4576764/life-magazine-100-photos/","name":"LIFE Magazine and the Most Influential Photos of All Time"}}]}] ```