The Art of Photography: Annie Leibovitz's Personal and Professional Journey

One of the aspects that sets Annie Leibovitz apart from other photographers is her ability to take unflattering photos. According to Susan Sontag, a close friend and admirer of Leibovitz, this aspect of her work reveals a lot about who she is as an artist. Sontag notes that "Annie does not take bad photos" and praises Leibovitz's skill in capturing high-quality images, even with simple equipment like Richard Avedon's big Sinar camera.

Avedon himself was known for being a private person and had few working relationships with other photographers. This is an exception to the norm, as Sontag mentions that Leibovitz was one of the few people who could penetrate this closed-off individual. The two were friends and worked together on numerous projects, including Avedon's personal work. One such example is a series of portraits taken by Leibovitz of Avedon himself. These photos provide a glimpse into the photographer's personality and show that even in his private life, he was willing to be vulnerable.

Leibovitz has always been known for her ability to capture emotional and intimate moments, as seen in her famous shots of celebrities and public figures. However, it's also evident from her personal work that she is not afraid to tackle difficult subjects. For example, after the death of Susan Sontag, Leibovitz took a series of photos at the hospital using a cell phone, capturing the emotional and devastating moment as Sontag struggled with illness. These photos are a testament to Leibovitz's dedication to her craft and her willingness to push boundaries.

One of the unique aspects of Leibovitz's work is its ability to transport us back in time. Many of her shots have a retro feel, reminiscent of 18th and 19th-century death portraits taken with glass plates and colliding processes. However, these photos are not simply nostalgic; they're also deeply personal and emotional. They capture the raw emotion of Leibovitz's own experiences, including the loss of her father around the same time she was taking these photos at Sontag's funeral.

Leibovitz's work is not just about technical skill or commercial success; it's also about storytelling. Many of her shots tell a story without needing to be explicitly explained. For example, one photo from the 1990s shows a woman standing in front of a pawn shop window in New York City. The image seems simple at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it reveals itself as a powerful commentary on consumerism and identity.

Another aspect of Leibovitz's work is her ability to capture moments of creative spark. For example, one photo shows the musician Masiku Usita with Jesse Mills backstage at the Marlé Music Festival. The image captures the essence of artistic collaboration and the spark of creativity that can occur when two talented individuals come together.

Throughout her career, Leibovitz has been recognized for her skill and dedication to her craft. She got her start in the 1960s shooting for Rolling Stone magazine and became a regular contributor to the publication's "Behind the Scenes" section. Her work with the Rolling Stones was one of her first major assignments, and it marked the beginning of her love affair with rock 'n' roll.

Leibovitz has continued to work in the commercial sector, taking photos for publications like Vogue and Vanity Fair. However, it's this personal book that provides the most intimate glimpse into her life and art. It's a testament to her ability to capture emotional truth through photography, even when dealing with difficult subjects. For anyone interested in understanding Leibovitz as an artist and person, this book is essential reading.

In conclusion, Annie Leibovitz's work is not just about technical skill or commercial success; it's also about storytelling, emotion, and a deep connection to the subject matter. Her personal book offers a unique glimpse into her life and art, showcasing her ability to capture intimate moments and emotional truth through photography. For anyone interested in understanding the art of photography, this book is a must-read.

Recommendations:

If you're new to Leibovitz's work, this book is an excellent place to start. There are many other publications that feature her commercial work, but this one provides a more personal and emotional connection to her art. To learn more about Leibovitz, follow her on social media or check out her official website. And for fans of photography and storytelling, be sure to tune in next time when we'll explore the world of Art of Photography with Ted Forbes.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhey everybody welcome back once again to another episode of The Art of Photography my name is Ted Forbes and today we're going to talk about a very well-known photographer um I usually try to when I do these kinds of episodes with the book reviews and stuff is to turn people on to people who are you know sometimes wellknown but not exactly mainstream in terms of uh you know the culture of photography on the internet and things like that um however um today I'm going to pick one that probably a lot of you are familiar with this is Annie lewitz and if you don't have this book this is a must it's a very thick book but this is Annie leitz a photographer's life 1990 to 2005 and the reason I picked this book in particular is I think it really represents what I love so much about Annie's work and that is is that she is just this consumate photographer she's constantly shooting uh she eats sleeps breathes and lives photography and uh this book is kind of a collection of some commercial work but a lot of personal work that she did and I think it's really hard and really rare to see artists open their personal lives up as much as she does in this book but I think that's just part of who Annie lewitz is and I think that is what makes her so special is that she's willing to share so much and I think it really gives the the photos a really uh you know more of a sense of depth than what you're going to see uh with stuff that isn't as personally connected uh with an artist and that's why we're going to look at this book today um and uh anyway so let's go ahead and get started okay the book we're looking at today is an lewitz a photographers life 1990 to 2005 um this is an easy book to find uh and I think it's absolutely essential in in any photographer's collection uh Annie leitz is a very important figure uh who's alive and working today and she's had a long career that really started with touring with the Rolling Stones and working for Rolling Stone magazine both in the in the 60s and what's interesting about this book is you can tell I think with any great artist that Annie lewitz is just she's a photographer I mean that that's all it is it's just a big part of her life and so what this book presents actually is a balance between commercial work that she's done uh as well as very personal shots that she's taken uh her well documented um romantic relationship with Susan sag uh travels I mean you know she was constantly or is constantly taking pictures and you know stuff like this is just you know I I don't think I've ever seen anybody who's just a more natural gifted photographer than uh than Annie lewitz uh it's just amazing most of this book is in black and white um and just some of the most beautiful things you've ever seen uh extreme range of uh what she can do um as far as skill goes uh what's interesting are these shots of Demi Moore and uh there's definitely a Richard avidon influence here and when we looked at if you watched the the episode that we we did on Richard avidon there's a shot that's very similar to this with you know extra stuff in the frame that that is not necessary uh but being able to do a pregnant shot of a celebrity um you know very interesting take on that uh this was you know done for commercial purposes but and then there's shots like this of you know that were taken uh you know in political crisis obviously you have this bicycle with a blood stain uh very dramatic image um now Annie lewitz is also a very successful and well-known photographer so she is obviously able to travel places and and pick up stuff that most of us are not going to do in our careers however um I think the fact that she's always got a camera with her is is extremely important she's just shooting all the time and when something comes up like this that's obviously a very provocative emotional shot she's there to get it and the camera's with her and I think that's extremely important to understand uh this is such a wonderful portrait of uh Dennis Hopper and Christopher wkan uh both sitting in a hotel with Dennis Hopper with no shirt uh this is you know Annie Lee would classic stuff I me creating this weird sense of what's going on in the composition even with celebrities that uh you know most of us are familiar with and and understand and and have seen uh this is a portrait of William S Burrows which uh William S Burrows was one of the U pots of the Beat Generation uh and had some pretty turbulent uh things dealing with in his own life uh but what's interesting first of all seeing these two shots together the profile as far as in contrast to the the straight- on head shot um also interesting is Willi Miss Burrows has obviously these very interesting facial features with the way the skin is kind of wrinkled and falls and you can see that she shot this with a really tight depth of field uh the eyes are in focus and a little bit of the nose and everything else kind of Fades out to a blur and I think it creates really an interesting composition especially if you know uh you know about William S Burrows uh you know I think that that that is extremely interesting and extremely um you know here's another another case scenario you have Willie Nelson here and talk a little bit about compositionally what is happening here um and again I don't know if this was intended on her part um but you know obviously the central focal point is the long hair here um but there's also a compositional technique that you need to understand that when you place objects close to the edge of the composition they your eye is drawn to them they create more tension and you can see that his face is pretty much right up at the edge and he's looking off the edge of the composition and that really creates that sense of balance even though the head air takes up the majority of the shot maybe the denim jacket but the focal point does become the face and is because it's on the edge of that photo uh if this were placed differently I think you would have a different perception of this photo if you brought him down slightly it would bring it out of balance so just really wonderful sense of composition that she just kind of naturally has uh this image kind of being one of the Opposites of that uh this very candid shot of Bruce Springsteen I believe this was taken in Philadelphia yeah 1999 and you know just in a very relaxed setting working on a set list for a show perhaps um you know just and she worked a lot with rolling stone did a lot of music photography and you know a l impacted her this is what's really special about this book is the fact that she is willing to share parts of her personal life and they're displayed here and while these are probably not the greatest shots she's ever taken from an artistic perspective they're very very good shots uh you see uh this really cool influence from somebody like h k um creeps into these uh the fact that she shows all her outtakes I mean you really get a sense in here that that uh Annie does not take bad photos and uh at least that's what I think uh Richard avedon's camera which is this big Sinar nothing fancy about it's kind of grungy but you're seeing this from the perspective that a model would see it from this is also followed with a portrait of Richard avidon who was kind of a closed-off individual and certainly uh did not have working relationships with other photographers and Annie lieuts was an except ception to that I know the two were very close and were friends um again this personal work and it's almost kind of uncomfortable just to show these in a podcast but um uh Susan sag when she eventually uh succed to death uh an leitz was in the hospital these were taken with a cell phone and she did kind of these just emotionally amazing shots of something that was obviously personally devastating to her and she's willing to share these which is rare I think and and with a book like this you get a glimpse into somebody's personal life and and it's you know just the fact that they shared these photos is just simply amazing um you know again taken and putting into black and white and these kind of have um you know an interesting throwback to them I think uh to some of the death portraits that you saw or that we've seen from the 18th and 19th century where um you know uh with glass plates and colliding process uh a lot of times people would want to preserve the image of family members who had passed away and these definitely have kind of a throwback look to some of that um but an extremely emotional time for for Annie she lost her father around the same time and these are are out of control uh these shots are are from the funeral and again incredible shots uh I think if you know somebody close to me had passed away bringing a camera to the funeral is not even the first thing I would think of but you know again this is Annie leitz this is what she does this is who she is and she's constantly making images and shooting photos and uh you know for that I think uh you know it's pretty amazing just simple shots like uh these are some notes from Susan Sant these are notes from the volcano lover Berlin 1990 uh just you know this wonderful sense of just always having the camera always being ready to shoot uh New York through the studio window um you know and I think that most of us need to strive to be there things that tell a story without somebody there uh this was known as the pawn house Clifton Point 2000 it's just a computer somebody's obviously been working uh if you know Anna you know who it was um but it almost doesn't matter uh this is something she was extremely good at too there's some wonderful shots of Mel barishnikov she did but this is uh this is uh masiku usita and with Jesse Mills the marel music festival uh taken backstage a point of rehearsal discussing the piece and just wonderful sense of Storytelling that there's a lot there you know it's amazing anyway that's Anie lewitz uh this is again known as the photographer's life uh this is really essential um to anybody who who is a photographer to to be able to understand um her as a person and her as an artist okay so that's Anie lewitz um the photographer's life 199 2005 I will put a link to this in the show notes which you can find at thepublic broadcast.com uh Annie's still alive today and she still is a wonderful photographer and uh very well respected uh she got her start in the 60s um shooting for Rolling Stone magazine uh traveling on the road with the Rolling Stones was one of her first first major assignments uh you know kind of got addicted to the Rock and Roll Lifestyle at that point which uh whether that was good or not good for uh it's a m point but she was able to immerse herself in the subject and uh that's really hard and rare like I've said for photographers to do and so anyway I really recommend you check out this book um it's a great place to start if you're not familiar with her work there's several other Publications that you can find that are mostly compilations of professional work that she's done for for commercial purposes but but uh this one uh is the one that's really special to me so anyway once again this has been the Art of Photography uh remember you can follow us on the Twitter if you want to follow me my handle is @ Ted Forbes or if you just want to follow the show and get show updates and find out when they come out you can follow _ podcast so anyway once again this has been the Art of Photography and thank you for watchinghey everybody welcome back once again to another episode of The Art of Photography my name is Ted Forbes and today we're going to talk about a very well-known photographer um I usually try to when I do these kinds of episodes with the book reviews and stuff is to turn people on to people who are you know sometimes wellknown but not exactly mainstream in terms of uh you know the culture of photography on the internet and things like that um however um today I'm going to pick one that probably a lot of you are familiar with this is Annie lewitz and if you don't have this book this is a must it's a very thick book but this is Annie leitz a photographer's life 1990 to 2005 and the reason I picked this book in particular is I think it really represents what I love so much about Annie's work and that is is that she is just this consumate photographer she's constantly shooting uh she eats sleeps breathes and lives photography and uh this book is kind of a collection of some commercial work but a lot of personal work that she did and I think it's really hard and really rare to see artists open their personal lives up as much as she does in this book but I think that's just part of who Annie lewitz is and I think that is what makes her so special is that she's willing to share so much and I think it really gives the the photos a really uh you know more of a sense of depth than what you're going to see uh with stuff that isn't as personally connected uh with an artist and that's why we're going to look at this book today um and uh anyway so let's go ahead and get started okay the book we're looking at today is an lewitz a photographers life 1990 to 2005 um this is an easy book to find uh and I think it's absolutely essential in in any photographer's collection uh Annie leitz is a very important figure uh who's alive and working today and she's had a long career that really started with touring with the Rolling Stones and working for Rolling Stone magazine both in the in the 60s and what's interesting about this book is you can tell I think with any great artist that Annie lewitz is just she's a photographer I mean that that's all it is it's just a big part of her life and so what this book presents actually is a balance between commercial work that she's done uh as well as very personal shots that she's taken uh her well documented um romantic relationship with Susan sag uh travels I mean you know she was constantly or is constantly taking pictures and you know stuff like this is just you know I I don't think I've ever seen anybody who's just a more natural gifted photographer than uh than Annie lewitz uh it's just amazing most of this book is in black and white um and just some of the most beautiful things you've ever seen uh extreme range of uh what she can do um as far as skill goes uh what's interesting are these shots of Demi Moore and uh there's definitely a Richard avidon influence here and when we looked at if you watched the the episode that we we did on Richard avidon there's a shot that's very similar to this with you know extra stuff in the frame that that is not necessary uh but being able to do a pregnant shot of a celebrity um you know very interesting take on that uh this was you know done for commercial purposes but and then there's shots like this of you know that were taken uh you know in political crisis obviously you have this bicycle with a blood stain uh very dramatic image um now Annie lewitz is also a very successful and well-known photographer so she is obviously able to travel places and and pick up stuff that most of us are not going to do in our careers however um I think the fact that she's always got a camera with her is is extremely important she's just shooting all the time and when something comes up like this that's obviously a very provocative emotional shot she's there to get it and the camera's with her and I think that's extremely important to understand uh this is such a wonderful portrait of uh Dennis Hopper and Christopher wkan uh both sitting in a hotel with Dennis Hopper with no shirt uh this is you know Annie Lee would classic stuff I me creating this weird sense of what's going on in the composition even with celebrities that uh you know most of us are familiar with and and understand and and have seen uh this is a portrait of William S Burrows which uh William S Burrows was one of the U pots of the Beat Generation uh and had some pretty turbulent uh things dealing with in his own life uh but what's interesting first of all seeing these two shots together the profile as far as in contrast to the the straight- on head shot um also interesting is Willi Miss Burrows has obviously these very interesting facial features with the way the skin is kind of wrinkled and falls and you can see that she shot this with a really tight depth of field uh the eyes are in focus and a little bit of the nose and everything else kind of Fades out to a blur and I think it creates really an interesting composition especially if you know uh you know about William S Burrows uh you know I think that that that is extremely interesting and extremely um you know here's another another case scenario you have Willie Nelson here and talk a little bit about compositionally what is happening here um and again I don't know if this was intended on her part um but you know obviously the central focal point is the long hair here um but there's also a compositional technique that you need to understand that when you place objects close to the edge of the composition they your eye is drawn to them they create more tension and you can see that his face is pretty much right up at the edge and he's looking off the edge of the composition and that really creates that sense of balance even though the head air takes up the majority of the shot maybe the denim jacket but the focal point does become the face and is because it's on the edge of that photo uh if this were placed differently I think you would have a different perception of this photo if you brought him down slightly it would bring it out of balance so just really wonderful sense of composition that she just kind of naturally has uh this image kind of being one of the Opposites of that uh this very candid shot of Bruce Springsteen I believe this was taken in Philadelphia yeah 1999 and you know just in a very relaxed setting working on a set list for a show perhaps um you know just and she worked a lot with rolling stone did a lot of music photography and you know a l impacted her this is what's really special about this book is the fact that she is willing to share parts of her personal life and they're displayed here and while these are probably not the greatest shots she's ever taken from an artistic perspective they're very very good shots uh you see uh this really cool influence from somebody like h k um creeps into these uh the fact that she shows all her outtakes I mean you really get a sense in here that that uh Annie does not take bad photos and uh at least that's what I think uh Richard avedon's camera which is this big Sinar nothing fancy about it's kind of grungy but you're seeing this from the perspective that a model would see it from this is also followed with a portrait of Richard avidon who was kind of a closed-off individual and certainly uh did not have working relationships with other photographers and Annie lieuts was an except ception to that I know the two were very close and were friends um again this personal work and it's almost kind of uncomfortable just to show these in a podcast but um uh Susan sag when she eventually uh succed to death uh an leitz was in the hospital these were taken with a cell phone and she did kind of these just emotionally amazing shots of something that was obviously personally devastating to her and she's willing to share these which is rare I think and and with a book like this you get a glimpse into somebody's personal life and and it's you know just the fact that they shared these photos is just simply amazing um you know again taken and putting into black and white and these kind of have um you know an interesting throwback to them I think uh to some of the death portraits that you saw or that we've seen from the 18th and 19th century where um you know uh with glass plates and colliding process uh a lot of times people would want to preserve the image of family members who had passed away and these definitely have kind of a throwback look to some of that um but an extremely emotional time for for Annie she lost her father around the same time and these are are out of control uh these shots are are from the funeral and again incredible shots uh I think if you know somebody close to me had passed away bringing a camera to the funeral is not even the first thing I would think of but you know again this is Annie leitz this is what she does this is who she is and she's constantly making images and shooting photos and uh you know for that I think uh you know it's pretty amazing just simple shots like uh these are some notes from Susan Sant these are notes from the volcano lover Berlin 1990 uh just you know this wonderful sense of just always having the camera always being ready to shoot uh New York through the studio window um you know and I think that most of us need to strive to be there things that tell a story without somebody there uh this was known as the pawn house Clifton Point 2000 it's just a computer somebody's obviously been working uh if you know Anna you know who it was um but it almost doesn't matter uh this is something she was extremely good at too there's some wonderful shots of Mel barishnikov she did but this is uh this is uh masiku usita and with Jesse Mills the marel music festival uh taken backstage a point of rehearsal discussing the piece and just wonderful sense of Storytelling that there's a lot there you know it's amazing anyway that's Anie lewitz uh this is again known as the photographer's life uh this is really essential um to anybody who who is a photographer to to be able to understand um her as a person and her as an artist okay so that's Anie lewitz um the photographer's life 199 2005 I will put a link to this in the show notes which you can find at thepublic broadcast.com uh Annie's still alive today and she still is a wonderful photographer and uh very well respected uh she got her start in the 60s um shooting for Rolling Stone magazine uh traveling on the road with the Rolling Stones was one of her first first major assignments uh you know kind of got addicted to the Rock and Roll Lifestyle at that point which uh whether that was good or not good for uh it's a m point but she was able to immerse herself in the subject and uh that's really hard and rare like I've said for photographers to do and so anyway I really recommend you check out this book um it's a great place to start if you're not familiar with her work there's several other Publications that you can find that are mostly compilations of professional work that she's done for for commercial purposes but but uh this one uh is the one that's really special to me so anyway once again this has been the Art of Photography uh remember you can follow us on the Twitter if you want to follow me my handle is @ Ted Forbes or if you just want to follow the show and get show updates and find out when they come out you can follow _ podcast so anyway once again this has been the Art of Photography and thank you for watching\n"