Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz
Anna-Lou "Annie" Leibovitzis an American portrait photographer. She photographed John Lennon on the day he was assassinated, and her work was used on two record albums by Joan Armatrading. She is the only woman to have held an exhibition at London’s National Portrait Gallery...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPhotographer
Date of Birth2 October 1949
CityWaterbury, CT
CountryUnited States of America
art photographer taking-pictures
I've always cared more about taking pictures than about the art market.
fighting photograph
I fight to take a good photograph every single time.
views important point-of-view
...I gave up on being a journalist - I thought having a point of view was more important than being objective.
people sense-of-humor
When you involve people, they come out, you see them, you get to see their sense of humor.
san-francisco docks cameras
When I was younger I did things with a camera I would not do by myself. I went down to the docks in San Francisco and asked a fisherman if he would take me out on his boat. I would never do that without a camera.
believe objectivity white
When I started to be published I thought about Margaret Bourke-White and the whole journalistic approach to things. I believed I was supposed to catch life going by me - that I wasn't to alter it or tamper with it - that I was just to watch what was going on and report it as best I could. This shoot with John was different. I got involved, and I realized that you can't help but be touched by what goes on in front of you. I no longer believe that there is such a thing as objectivity.
roles subjects ifs
The subjects felt more comfortable if they played the role than if they had to be themselves.
dark thinking light
I think self-portraits are very difficult. I’ve always seen mine as straightforward, very stripped down, hair pulled back. No shirt. Whatever light happened to be available. I’d want it to be very graphic – about darkness and light. No one else should be there, but I’m scared to do it by myself. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time. The whole idea of a self-portrait is strange. I’m so strongly linked to how I see through the camera that to get to the other side of it would be difficult. It would be as if I were taking a photograph in the dark.
wall thinking white
I don't think there is anything wrong with white space. I don't think it's a problem to have a blank wall.
thinking want photograph
Irving Penn said he didn't want to photograph anyone under 60, and I think there is some truth about it.
real relax portraits
There is a myth that the portrait photographer is supposed to make the subject relax, and that's the real person. But I'm interested in whatever is going on. And I'm not that comfortable myself.
artist vocabulary style
I've created a vocabulary of different styles. I draw from many different ways to take a picture. Sometimes I go back to reportage, to journalism.
artist one-day mystery
There are still so many places on our planet that remain unexplored. I'd love to one day peel back the mystery and understand them.
rolling stones way
At my Rolling Stones' tour, the camera was a protection. I used it in a Zen way.