Luther Smith was born in rural Tishomingo County, Mississippi in 1950. He spent the first ten years there living with his grandmother, mother and father and two sisters. In 1960 his family moved to Aurora, Illinois where he grew up. He attended the University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana first studying engineering and then social science and finally photography. After graduating in 1972 he attended Rhode Island School of Design and graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree in photography. He taught at the U of Illinois from 1974 to 1983 and was in charge of the photography program. Since 1983 he has taught at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.He has a variety of interest in photography including landscape and the human condition.