In 1964, Dater met Imogen Cunningham, whose life and work had greatly inspired her. In 1979, three years after Cunningham's death, she published Imogen Cunningham: A Portrait, containing interviews with many of Cunningham's contemporaries, and photos by both Dater and Cunningham. This book also contained the photo: Imogen and Twinka.

In 1979 she received a Guggenheim Award in 1979. Dater also published two further books of her work: Body and Soul (1988) and Cycles (1994).

Judy Dater now lives in Berkeley, CA with her husband Jack B. von Euw.