15 Famous Photos That Almost Never Happened

Some famous photographs look inevitable in hindsight. The right person was standing in exactly the right place, the photographer pressed the shutter at exactly the right second, and history seemingly did the rest. In reality, many iconic images survived a much shakier path. Photographers nearly missed their subjects, assignments changed at the last minute, equipment created problems, and spontaneous decisions produced pictures nobody had planned to take. In a few cases, the photographer did not even realize how extraordinary the image was until later. Change one tiny detail and some of the photographs now reproduced around the world might never have existed at all. Here are 15 famous photos that almost never happened.

Muhammad Ali Standing Over Sonny Liston

Neil Leifer almost missed the angle that made his 1965 photograph legendary. He happened to be positioned on the side of the ring where Ali turned after Liston went down, capturing the boxer towering over his opponent.

The Beatles Crossing Abbey Road

The Beatles’ Abbey Road cover came from an extremely short photoshoot outside their recording studio. Photographer Iain Macmillan had only minutes to capture the band crossing while a police officer temporarily held up traffic.

Earthrise From Apollo 8

The Apollo 8 astronauts were photographing the Moon when Earth unexpectedly appeared above the lunar horizon. Bill Anders hurriedly switched to color film, capturing a view that had not been part of the mission’s original photographic plan.

The Afghan Girl

Steve McCurry nearly left a classroom in a Pakistani refugee camp without photographing Sharbat Gula. After noticing her striking eyes among the students, he took the portrait that eventually became one of National Geographic’s most recognizable covers.

Salvador Dalí Flying Through the Air

Philippe Halsman needed dozens of attempts to create Dalí Atomicus in 1948. Assistants repeatedly threw cats and buckets of water while Dalí jumped, and it took 28 tries before Halsman got the bizarre composition he wanted.

Albert Einstein Sticking Out His Tongue

Arthur Sasse asked Albert Einstein for one more birthday photograph as the exhausted physicist was leaving a celebration in 1951. Instead of smiling again, Einstein stuck out his tongue, and Sasse happened to capture it.

The Hindenburg Disaster

Sam Shere was among photographers waiting for the Hindenburg’s routine arrival in New Jersey in 1937. When the airship suddenly caught fire, he had only seconds to raise his camera and photograph a completely unexpected disaster.

The Situation Room During the Bin Laden Raid

Pete Souza was documenting President Barack Obama and his national security team during the 2011 operation when everyone crowded into a small conference room. Souza found a spot in a corner and quietly photographed a scene that was never staged for public consumption.

The Blue Marble

Apollo 17’s crew happened to have the Sun behind them as they traveled toward the Moon in December 1972, leaving Earth fully illuminated. The unusual geometry allowed them to capture one of the clearest full-Earth photographs ever taken by humans.

The First Photograph of a Human Being

Louis Daguerre was photographing Paris’s Boulevard du Temple around 1838 when a man stopped long enough to have his shoes polished. Because the exposure lasted several minutes, moving pedestrians disappeared while the stationary customer accidentally became one of photography’s first human subjects.

Marilyn Monroe’s Subway-Grate Dress

The famous image of Marilyn Monroe’s white dress blowing upward was created while filming The Seven Year Itch in New York. The original street shoot attracted such an enormous crowd that the scene ultimately had to be recreated on a Hollywood soundstage.

The First Macintosh Said Hello

Steve Jobs unveiled the Macintosh in 1984 by pulling the computer from a bag and letting it introduce itself to the audience. Photographer Marilyn K. Yee captured Jobs beside the tiny machine during the launch that helped define Apple’s public image.

Winston Churchill’s Famous Scowl

Yousuf Karsh had only a brief opportunity to photograph Winston Churchill in 1941. Moments before taking his best-known portrait, Karsh abruptly removed Churchill’s cigar, provoking the furious expression that transformed an ordinary portrait session.

The Hollywood Sign Was Still Being Built

A 1923 photograph shows workers constructing the enormous hillside sign when it still read “Hollywoodland”. Built as an advertisement for a housing development, the temporary sign ended up becoming one of Los Angeles’ most recognizable landmarks.

The Tank Man Photographs

Several photographers captured the unidentified man confronting tanks near Tiananmen Square in 1989, often from hotel balconies under difficult conditions. Jeff Widener nearly missed his opportunity after being injured and struggling to obtain the film he needed before the confrontation unfolded.