Annie Leibovitz

[ann]

I have managed to get a rare dvd called Annie Leibovits Life Through A lens which was a PBS special. This dvd was made and sent to the members of the panel that awards Emmy for their consideration.

Perhaps some here saw the tv production, which i did not.

I have the video called Annie Leibovitz Celebrity Photographer which i show off and on to a class i teach once a year about vision.

When i purchased the current one i was unsure if it would be the same as my other one (as it too was made for public tv.)

I just finished watching it and would recommend that folks take a look if you can find a copy.

It was much more intimate. She talks about not having a clue about making portraits and not understanding editing and wondering if all these celebrity photos are the banne of her existance.

Please lets not turn this into i love/hate her work; i just wanted to share the thought that it is interesting to hear someone at her level talk about the work.

And oh, yes, folks do talk about how hard she can be to work with, and is it possible to even capture the inner person.

[renegade]

I'd love to see both dvd's I wonder where you'd find them?
Gay

[ann]

i ran across this on ebay, i have misplace my Sally Mann dvd and was looking to get another as it is in my lesson plan for this session.

i really thought it was the same one that i have on video , but thought it was cheap and it would make a great backup for when the video "died".

I was delighted to discover it was different, altho, some of the earlier work from Rolling Stones is discussed, but in more depth.

[Terri]

It was much more intimate. She talks about not having a clue about making portraits and not understanding editing and wondering if all these celebrity photos are the banne of her existance.

Interesting comment, coming from her. I mean, they (the portraits) have paid her handsomely and made her famous. Is she saying that those who edited her images made them better than she thought they were at the time of the shoot? :scratch:

I saw an exhibit of hers a year or so back (it was at the High Museum in Atlanta) and I don't buy that she doesn't have a clue about making portraits. Some of her work is exceptionally beautiful - dramatic and striking. Unless she is able to hire the best set designers and lighting teams out there, and all she did was pull the trigger, I must say it certainly seemed, from the body of work I saw, that she knows how to make compelling portraits. ;)

Would love to see the video. It sounds fascinating.

[ann]

she was talking about coming to vanity fair after being at rolling stones. If you look at the images from that time and then later , there is a big difference with regard to lighting, etc.

I understood her comments to mean she had to learn as she never thought about which side of who's face , etc. But it is clear she learned and the concepts are something she is very serious about. She did not start out as a portrait photographer so that does make sense that it was something she had to learn.

She diffently is directing traffic at these shoots.


She mentions the name of the woman who became a mentor to her when rolling stones moved to new york, who at the time was considered one of the best editors around and how much she learned about reviewing contact sheets and began to learn how to pick out the winners from all the "crap".

I thought it was interesting that she was open about her journey.

I heard her talk years ago here in Atlanta and she said then that it was an editor who kept telling her closer , closer , closer.

Perhaps i ran some of the comments together, as they came at different times in the program and didn't mean to mislead anyone.

For me, it just reinforce that we all start out knowing nothing, and learn, Photographers imho, all make the same mistakes at some point along the way; and it is rare to hear some of the heavy hitters talk about that side of the story.

[Terri]

I agree - it is nice to feel that kinship with someone who has learned much, and come so far. Nice to hear that reflection on the journey.

I never saw the initial TV segment. I think I'd enjoy either one of them. Never thought to take a look around ebay for something like that!

[René]

The March issue of American Photo is dedicated to the work of Annie.