Arthur Tress was born on November 24, 1940, in Brooklyn, New York.

His early photographic experiments were deeply influenced by Heinrich Bluecher of Bard College, New York, with whom he studied comparative world culture and philosophy. In 1962 Tress went to Paris to study filmmaking but soon gave it up. Over the next several years he travelled through Europe, Africa, Mexico, India, and Japan. His photography shifted towards ethnographic documentation of the different cultures. In 1967 Tress moved to Sweden where he prepared educational filmstrips for the Stockholm Ethnographical Museum. Here he began in earnest a distinct directorial style of documentation, employing candid situations altered to suit his particular and intuitive imagination. In 1968 he moved back to New York with a commitment to becoming a professional photographer.