Paul Himmel was born on April 1, 1914 in New Haven, Connecticut. In 1923, Himmel met Lillian Bassman for the first time and later on they were married in 1935. In 1932 he finished his degree in Science and started to teach. In 1945, he started working as a professional photograper and a year later he studied photography and graphic journalism at the New School under Brodovitch.
In 1947, Himmel started his first fashion shootings for Harper’s Bazaar under the patronage of Bassman and also worked for Vogue. In 1950, he started his own project including series on circus, boxer and ballet. He experimented with grain structure in his negative and prints. From 1947 to 1969, he worked for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar and his works were included in Edward Steichen’s “Family of Man” exhibition. In 1969, Himmel gave up working as a photographer and more than 25 years he worked as a psychotherapist.