Who photographed the cover of U2’s The Joshua Tree album?

Anton Corbijn photographed the cover of U2’s The Joshua Tree album.

Corbijn’s black-and-white photographs helped define the visual identity of The Joshua Tree, released in 1987. The cover shows the four band members in a stark desert landscape, matching the album’s themes of America, spirituality, searching, and wide-open spaces.

The image was made during a photo session in California’s Mojave Desert. The distinctive Joshua tree in the landscape became closely associated with the record, even though the album’s title and imagery are symbolic rather than a literal account of the band’s location.

Corbijn worked extensively with U2 beyond this cover, creating photography and visual material for later releases and tours. The album’s cover is often confused with the separate portrait and promotional images from the same era, but Corbijn is the credited photographer.