In 1987, Emmet won the coveted Canon Photo Essayist Award in the NPPA (National Press Photographers Association) sponsored Pictures of the Year Awards for his published book, Fruit Tramps: A Family of Migrant Workers. He was also nominated for a Pulitzer. Herman LeRoy Emmet's award-winning photographs have been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, New York and are represented in the MOMA's permanent collection.