( CNN ) As art , film stills are often overlooked . The photographers tend to be anonymous ; it 's easy to imagine their work done by the director or cinematographer . Their images are often lumped in with the promotional machinery : Whether documenting the stars frolicking on set or getting down to business , it 's just another form of salesmanship . Which is why the work of Ernst Haas is so striking . Haas , one of the 20th century 's great photojournalists and image-makers -- an early member of the great Magnum Photos cooperative who was famous enough in his prime to have been the subject of a Museum of Modern Art exhibit in 1962 -- was also a regular on movie sets . It was a necessity in those early days , said John Jacob , the editor of a new book of Haas ' movie photography , `` Ernst Haas : On Set . '' `` Working on film sets was really important to Magnum , and all of the photographers working with Magnum in the '50s did films , '' says Jacob , now the McEvoy Family Curator for Photography at the Smithsonian American Art Museum . Not only did the work pay off financially , but the photographers also established relationships with members of the industry , he said . And the stars and directors knew what they were getting : some of the best in the field . Photographers such as Haas were entrusted to bring their talent and style to the work . The photographers `` are definitely producing work for posterity , that very much has their own fingerprint on it , '' Jacob said . Such distinction is obvious from looking at Haas ' work -- some of which is as famous as the movies he worked on . There 's a striking picture of Orson Welles in 1949 's `` The Third Man , '' hemmed in by the darkness in a way that suggests the shadowy themes of the classic film . Another , of Gregory Peck and Chuck Connors in 1958 's `` The Big Country , '' is as dramatic as any full-scale movie duel . ( Westerns were a specialty . ) But Haas also has a way of documenting the artificiality of film work , whether it 's capturing the sprawling , workaday set of 1965 's `` The Greatest Story Ever Told '' or snapping a relaxed picture of Barbara Streisand as Dolly Levi in 1969 's `` Hello , Dolly ! '' Social media . Follow @ CNNPhotos on Twitter to join the conversation about photography . The former is particularly interesting : an image of actors splayed on crosses for the crucifixion scene , surrounded by ladders , a camera crane , a painted scrim and several casually dressed crew members . Jacob observes that in each of Haas ' images there 's an eye for the unusual . The black-and-white work from `` The Greatest Story Ever Told , '' for example , is almost prayerful , while the color images call attention to the artificiality of film . And some of Haas ' other color images , especially his work for 1961 's `` West Side Story , '' fit in neatly with others in his catalog , as Haas was known for an impressionistic blur of hues that Jacob calls `` the Haas effect . '' Haas died in 1986 , and despite being celebrated during his life , his name is somewhat forgotten these days . Jacob hopes that `` Ernst Haas : On Set '' reminds people just what a master he was . `` A lot of these are familiar images , but you do n't necessarily associate them with Haas , '' he said . `` On the other hand , people who know Haas well do n't actually know this work , because it was work for hire and was n't ever put together in this way before . '' Ernst Haas was an Austrian photographer who passed away in 1986 . He was a member of Magnum Photos .
Ernst Haas , a celebrated 20th-century photographer , was a regular on movie sets . He took pictures of the actors and actresses in his movies as well as their costumes.