The art of photography has a long and distinguished history in Việt Nam. The earliest known Vietnamese photographer was Đặng Huy Trứ, a native of Huế who purchased camera equipment in Hong Kong and opened a shop in Hà Nội in 1869. However, whilst commercial photography thrived throughout the colonial period, it did not undergo significant creative development until the 1930s, when numerous awards were garnered by Hà Nội photographer Võ An Ninh, generally regarded as the father of modern Vietnamese photography.

As anti-colonial activities gathered pace many leading Vietnamese photographers became involved in the task of recording for posterity the unfolding events of the revolution, notably Võ An Ninh (b 1908), Vũ Năng An (b 1916), Nguyễn Hồng Nghi (1917-1991), Nguyễn Bá Khoản (1917-1994), Nguyễn Đình Ưu (1918-2002), Nguyễn Tiến Lợi (b 1918) and Đinh Đăng Định (1920-2003) and Triệu Đại (b 1922). Vũ Năng An, Nguyễn Tiến Lợi, Nguyễn Hồng Nghi, Nguyễn Đình Ưu and Triệu Đại in particular played a crucial role in documenting the key stages of the French War.

The Việt Nam Photographic Artists’ Association (Hội Nghệ sĩ Nhiếp ảnh Việt Nam) was set up in Hà Nội in 1965 to to promote photographic creativity theory, criticism and training in support of the revolutionary struggle and in line with with socialist ideology. Since Reunification in 1975 this Association has developed an extensive network of international partner organisations, initially with other socialist countries but increasingly since the late 1980s with counterpart associations in the west. Now a fully-fledged member of the International Federation of Photographic Art (FIAP), the Association organises regular exhibitions to showcase the work of its members, arranges the annual National Photography Competition (Cuộc thi Nhiếp ảnh Toàn quốc) and runs numerous short training courses. At the time of going to press 108 Vietnamese artists have been awarded FIAF's prestigious AFIAP (Artiste FIAP) and EFIAP (Excellence FIAP) titles.