Alfred Stieglitz is often called the father of modern photography because of his driving force in the fight to have photography recognized as an art form. Camera Work was one of the greatest accomplishments of Stieglitz in his mission to bring the level of photographic art in the United States up to the level of work being produced in England and Europe. After leaving The Camera Club, New York and the editor's position of Camera Notes in 1903, Stieglitz pulled together the leading photographers of the day who were committed to making photographs as forms of art. He formed a new organization called the Photo-Secession, and exhibited members photographs at his gallery, "291", and published their photographs in his own magazine which he called Camera Work.

Camera Work reproduced photographs by Kasebier, Steichen, Stieglitz, White, and other leading photographers in high quality photogravure. The editions were small and the reproductions were remarkably faithful to the original print, both in tone and texture. Stieglitz described the photogravures as "suitable for framing." Camera Work was also a leader in printing critical thought on art by George Bernard Shaw, Gertrude Stein, Sadakichi Hartmann, and Mabel Dodge. Stieglitz championed the work of early modernist painters, and reproduced paintings by Picasso, Cezanne, Rodin, Marin, and Matisse.

Among his other achievements, Stieglitz was a member of the Society of Amateur Photographers in 1891 (which became the N.Y. Camera Club in 1897), and he was the first American to be elected to The Linked Ring (1894). With twelve others he established the Photo-Secession, serving as director in 1902, and he received more than 150 medals and awards; among them the Progress Medal of RPS (1924), Townsend Harris Medal (1927), Honorary Fellowship of the Photographic Society of America (1940) and P.H. Emerson Award (1887).