There is provided an X-ray image photographing method and an X-ray image photographing apparatus capable of photographing a high resolution phase contrast image and a high resolution absorption contrast image in a short time according to the purpose only by finely adjusting the distance between a specimen and a detector with respect to an X-ray source. The X-ray image photographing method enables photographing of a fine structure with a high space resolution while using an X-ray source having a finite size, and d/L is sufficiently smaller than 1, when L is a distance from an X-ray source 110 to a specimen 500 and d is a distance from the specimen 500 to a detector 130. Further, a distance between a peak position and a valley position of a phase contrast is not less than 1/3” and not more than 3”, when » is an average wavelength of X-ray to be irradiated from the X-ray source 110 and ” is a resolution of the detector 130.