Betty Hahn, born Elizabeth Okon in October 1940 in Chicago, developed an early interest in photography, receiving her first camera at age 10. After moving to Indiana, she attended Indiana University, where she earned a degree in fine arts and studied photography under Henry Holmes Smith. It was Smith who encouraged her to explore the gum bichromate process and helped shape her career in photography. Hahn's early work was influenced by her exposure to the "vernacular" and "snapshots" photography traditions, further deepened during her time in Rochester in the late 1960s, where she also connected with key figures in the photography world.

Hahn went on to teach photography at various institutions, including the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and the University of New Mexico, where she eventually became a full professor. Her artistic career flourished with solo exhibitions, grants, and her involvement in mixed-media photography. Hahn’s work is housed in prestigious collections such as the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. She continued to teach and produce art until her retirement in 1997, leaving a significant mark on the world of fine art photography.