Annie Leibovitz
name, date of birth / death (if deceased)
Annie Leibovitz was born on October 2nd 1949 in Waterbury Connecticut.
family & biographical information
Leibovitz's father was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, the family moved frequently due to her father's duty assignments. It was when her father was stationed in the Philippines that she took her first photograph, and fell in love with photography.
education
Leibovitz attended the San Fransisco Art Institute, where she studied painting. During this time Leibovitz was also trying to develop her photography skills and worked many odd jobs to pay of various expenses.
places the photographer lived or worked
In 1970 Leibovitz started her career at Rolling Stone magazine as staff photographer, and in 1973 she was named chief photographer for Rolling Stone, which was a position that she held for 10 years, until she retired from the magazine in 1983.
major contributions to the field of photography / importance of the photographer's work
Her intimate photographs of celebrities helped to define the Rolling Stone look, and she taught many that you can work for a magazine and still make the photographs that you take personal.
themes &/or personal/social/environmental/world events that influenced the photographer's work
Photographers such as Robert Frank and Henri-Cartier-Bresson influenced Leibovitz because of their style of personal reportage that was taken in a graphic way
interesting facts about the photographer
- She was awarded the Royal Photographic Society's Centenary Medal and Honorary Fellowship in 2009
- Although she is considered a very successful photographer she had to borrow 15.5 million dollars due to her unwise money spending decisions
- She was hired by the Walt Disney Company to shoot various celebrities in different Disney roles and scenes for the Walt Disney Resorts
what drew you to choose this photographer
I was drawn to this photographer because I really enjoy reading magazines such as Rolling Stone and seeing celebrities in a way that changes who you originally perceived them to be
I thought that it was really fun an interesting to base my photographs off of work done by Annie Leibovitz. It was a lot more challenging than I originally perceived to make people look like someone that Leibovitz would photograph, however my sister and I had a lot of fun choosing the poses and props.