John Dominis
John Dominis (June 27, 1921 – December 30, 2013) was an American documentary photographer, war photographer and photojournalist.
John Dominis

Angelo Cozzi (Mondadori Publishers) · This image has been extracted from another file · Public domain
- Name
- John Dominis
- Born
- 27 June 1921
- Birthplace
- Los Angeles, California, United States
- Died
- 30 December 2013
- Place of death
- Manhattan, New York, United States
- Occupation
- * Documentary photographer
- Nationality
- United States
- Education
- USC School of Cinematic Arts · University of Southern California
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John Dominis (June 27, 1921 – December 30, 2013) was an American documentary photographer, war photographer and photojournalist.
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Documentary evidence
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wikidata · Q15149827 · wikipedia · John Dominis
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — John Dominis • Born — 27 June 1921 • Birthplace — Los Angeles, California, United States • Died — 30 December 2013 • Place of death — Manhattan, New York, United States • Occupation — * Documentary photographer • War photographer • Photojournalist • Relatives — Paul Dominis (Son), Dori Dominis (daughter), Greg Dominis (Son)
Life
Life
Dominis was born 1921 in Los Angeles. He studied cinematography at the University of Southern California. In 1943 he enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces. After the war, he worked as a freelance photographer for several publications, such as Life magazine. In 1950 he went to Korea as a war photographer in the Korean War. Later he worked in Southeast Asia, in America, Africa and Europe, including President John F. Kennedy's 1963 West Berlin speech. Dominis went to six Olympic Games. One of his best-known pictures was shot during the 1968 Summer Olympics, when Dominis pictured Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their Black Power salute. Dominis worked for Life magazine during the Vietnam War and later also went to Woodstock. In the 1970s he worked for People magazine. From 1978 to 1982 he was an editor for the Sports Illustrated. He often pictured stars like Steve McQueen or Frank Sinatra, and these photo series were later published as illustrated books. Together with Giuliano Bugialli he published several books about the Italian cuisine, with Dominis being responsible for the food photography. In John Loengard's book Life Photographers: What They Saw, Dominis reported about the staging of his picture A leopard about to kill a baboon. The picture was shot in 1966 in Botswana when a hunter had brought a captured leopard to a bunch of baboons. Most fled immediately but one faced the leopard and was killed subsequently. Dominis was heavily criticized after the staging became public and apologized for it. He mentioned that during the 1960s the staging of pictures was very popular and he wouldn't use this method today. Dominis died December 30, 2013, in New York City of complications from a heart attack. He was 92.
Selected works
Selected works
• Maitland Armstrong Edey, John Dominis: The cats of Africa. Time-life Books, 1968, 1. edition, ASIN: B00005VJIN • Giuliano Bugialli, John Dominis: Giuliano Bugialli's Foods of Italy. Stewart Tabori & Chang, 1984, 1. edition, • Giuliano Bugialli, John Dominis: Foods of Sicily and Sardinia and the Smaller Islands. Rizzoli, 2002, • Richard B. Stolley, John Dominis: Sinatra: An Intimate Portrait of a Very Good Year. Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 2002, • John Dominis: Steve McQueen. Munich, Schirmer Mosel, 2009, 1. edition,
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1921–2013
The full dated record · 3 entries
1921
John Dominis born at Los Angeles.
1968
Black Power Salute is dated 1968.
2013
John Dominis died at Manhattan.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Los Angeles.
Birth place
Manhattan.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “John Dominis”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q15149827: John Dominis
Reputable secondary · Wikimedia Foundation
authority file
- VIAF cluster 37829119 for John Dominis, aggregating national library name authorities.
General reference · OCLC
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Vitello, Paul. John Dominis, a Star Photographer for Life Magazine, Dies at 92. The New York Times. 31 December 2013.
- 2.John Dominis: Celebrating the Diverse Work of a Master Photographer
- 3., Smithsonian, August 2008.
- 4."The Leopard and the Baboon: Anatomy of a Classic (Staged) Life Photo". Life, retrieved 13 November 2013.
- 5.John Dominis, Longtime LIFE Photographer, Dies at 92
References
Citations
References
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reference work
Secondary witnessauthority file
Secondary witnessreference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q15149827: John DominisWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witness
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
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Studied at
1- USC School of Cinematic ArtsOrganisation
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Further particulars
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Further particulars
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John Dominis is recorded as photographer, photojournalist and journalist. Connected to 1 other published record in the VALÉORINE Encyclopedia.
Within the Encyclopedia
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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