“When you photograph people in color, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in black and white, you photograph their souls!” Ted Grant once beautifully said, and it’s hard to argue with that.
This time, we turned to the Instagram page ‘Simple Is Beautiful Photography’ and gathered a collection centered around childhood—that brief, precious chapter of life when every day felt truly magical, and even the smallest moments carried a beauty deep within.
Scroll down and see which childhood photos speak to you most, or maybe bring back a few warm memories of your own.
In this selection, the clothes, streets, and decades may be different, but childhood remains unmistakably the same. Curiosity still leans forward. Joy still bursts out without warning. Loneliness still lingers in a passing glance. Across time and place, the language of being young still stays beautifully universal.
Many of these photographs come from another era, which gives them an added emotional pull. They remind us of slower days, rougher edges, and lives less polished for display. Yet they never feel distant. Instead, they feel strangely close, as if the child in the frame could step forward at any moment and continue whatever game, thought, or dream was interrupted by the shutter.
There are no filters here, no staged perfection, no need to impress. Just real faces, real expressions, real seconds that happened once and were somehow kept. And that may be the reason these images still resonate: truth, when captured well, does not age.
#4 Photography By Henri Cartier-Bresson, Italy 1960
Henri Cartier-Bresson (22 August 1908 – 3 August 2004) was a French humanist photographer and also an artist. He was considered a master of candid photography and was an early user of 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography and viewed capturing what he named the decisive moment as the essence of the very best pictures.
19points
#5 Henri Cartier-Bresson (August 22, 1908, Chanteloup, France - August 3, 2004, Céreste) Rue Mouffetard, Paris 1954
Henri Cartier-Bresson was a French photographer whose humane, spontaneous photographs helped establish photojournalism as an art form. His theory that photography can capture the meaning beneath outward appearance in instants of extraordinary clarity is perhaps best expressed in his book Images à la sauvette (1952; The Decisive Moment).
15points
#6 Photography By Erdal Yazıcı (Turkish, Born 1953)
Boy carrying milk and bread. Balat, Istanbul, 1989.
15points
#7 Photography By Sergio Larraín
Sergio Larraín (November 5, 1931 – February 7, 2012) was a Chilean photographer and a member of Magnum Photos in the 1960s. He is widely considered the most important photographer in Chile’s history because of his innovative street photography that focused on everyday life and people, especially street children, using shadows and unusual angles to create powerful images. His work in Paris inspired the story “Las Babas del Diablo,” which later influenced the film Blow-Up. Later in life, Larraín left professional photography to live a more spiritual and reflective life in rural Chile while continuing personal creative pursuits.
14points
#8 Photography By Henri-Cartier Bresson Palermo, Sicily, 1971
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) was a pioneering French photographer and one of the founders of Magnum Photos. Known as the master of “the decisive moment,” he captured fleeting slices of everyday life with perfect timing, intuition and compositional harmony. His work shaped modern photojournalism and helped define street photography as an art form.
14points
#9 Photography By Wayne Miller Children In A Movie Theater, USA, 1958
14points
#10 Photography By Janine Niépce Child With A Saint Bernard Dog, Megève, 1954
Janine Niépce was born on February 12, 1921, in Meudon, outside Paris, to a family involved in the Burgundy wine trade. Her family is linked to the inventor of photography, Nicephore Niépce. She studied art and archaeology at the Sorbonne. She was given the Chevalier for Arts and Letters in 1981 and the French Legion of Honor in 1985. In 1955, she took Henri Cartier-Bresson's advice and joined the photo agency Rapho. Niepce's work often focused on the history and struggles of women worldwide. She was considered one of France's top living female photographers. Over 20 books were published on her photographic work. Niepce passed away on August 5, 2007. Her work is in the collections of the Musée Carnavalet and Akron Art Museum, among others.
14points
#11 Photography By Christer Strömholm Paris, 1962
Christer Strömholm (1918–2002) was a Swedish photographer and one of the most important figures in modern European photography, known for his emotional black-and-white documentary style that focused on human identity, loneliness, and people living on the margins of society. After studying art and photography in Germany and France, he traveled widely across post-war Europe and created deeply personal work, believing that photography should express the photographer’s inner experience rather than simply record reality, a philosophy that shaped both his own art and his role as a highly influential teacher who trained many leading Scandinavian photographers.
14points
#13 Photography By Sergio Larraín
Sergio Larraín (November 5, 1931 – February 7, 2012) was a Chilean photographer and a member of Magnum Photos in the 1960s. He is widely considered the most important photographer in Chile’s history because of his innovative street photography that focused on everyday life and people, especially street children, using shadows and unusual angles to create powerful images. His work in Paris inspired the story “Las Babas del Diablo,” which later influenced the film Blow-Up. Later in life, Larraín left professional photography to live a more spiritual and reflective life in rural Chile while continuing personal creative pursuits.
12points
#15 Photography By Jean-Philippe Charbonnier Wainwright, Alaska, 1955
Jean-Philippe Charbonnier (1921–2004) was a French photographer known for his humanist approach and powerful photojournalism after World War II. He was born in Paris into an artistic family and began photography as a young man. Charbonnier worked for the magazine Réalités, capturing daily life in France and around the world, from North Africa to China and the United States. His images document social change and everyday moments with striking realism. Later in life, he focused on personal projects in Paris and earned recognition for portraying society with depth and empathy. Charbonnier’s work remains influential for its historical significance and artistic insight.
12points
#16 Pedro Luis Raota: A Timeless Voice From Argentina
Pedro Luis Raota (April 26, 1934 – March 4, 1986) was an influential Argentine photographer who became one of the most awarded artists from Latin America. He began his photographic career at a young age and quickly gained recognition through exhibitions and international competitions. Raota won hundreds of prestigious awards around the world for his unique style that highlights strong light against dark backgrounds. His images capture human stories with emotional depth and visual clarity. In 1981, he founded the Buenos Aires Institute of Photographic Art, where he taught and inspired future photographers. His work remains celebrated globally for its humanity and artistic vision.
12points
#17 Photography By Harold Feinstein (American, April 17, 1931–june 20, 2015) Coney Island, New York, 1955
11points
#19 Jean-Philippe Charbonnier (French, 1921–2004)
Jean-Philippe Charbonnier was a French photographer known for his humanist vision and powerful postwar photojournalism. He was born in Paris into an artistic family and began practicing photography at a young age. He worked extensively for Réalités magazine and documented everyday life in France and abroad, including North Africa, China and the United States. His photographs reflect social change through ordinary moments with strong realism, emotional clarity and empathy. In later years, he focused on personal projects in Paris. His work remains influential for its historical depth and artistic sensitivity.
10points
#20 Photography By Ken Russell, 1954
Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. Before achieving success in the film industry, Russell was a stills photographer for a period. An exhibition displaying some of Russell's work was on display during the summer of 2007 in central London's Proud Galleries in The Strand, London. The exhibition, entitled Ken Russell's Lost London Rediscovered: 1951–1957, included photos taken in and around London, with many of the pictures being taken in the Portobello Road area of London. An exhibition Ken Russell: Filmmaker, Photographer ran at several galleries in 2010.
8points