Photographer of the Week: Annie Leibovitz

    Annie Leibovitz was born on October 2nd, 1949, in Connecticut. She originally went to the San Francisco Art Institute to study painting, but after a class in photography she fell in love with the art and began to pursue it was a passion and a career.

   

    In 1970, she began as a freelance photographer for the Rolling Stone, but then quickly became their cheif photographer in 1973 from her oustanding work. After 10 years she finally departed the Rolling Stone, but not after shooting over 142 covers.

    In 1983 she joined Vanity Fair, and in 1998 she also started working for Vogue.

    Leibovitz's claim to fame is probably her cover picture for the Rolling Stone of John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono. The picture was taken on the same day John Lennon was killed. On top of being a very interesting photo, the photo is also commemorated as a memorial for Lennon's death since the photo was taken in such close time to his death.

    What makes Leibovitz such an outstanding photographer is her mastery of lighting and posing. Above is one of my favorite photos Leibovitz took of Cate Blanchett. The posing shows great intent while also looking relaxed and natural. Blanchett's arms aren't overlapping parts of her torso which gives her a more slim look. Hand poses are often extremely hard to look right, however it's pulled off perfectly here.

    On top of that, the lighting is on key. The key light - pun intended - is an artistic side light onto Blanchett's face, and there is a subtle hair light to ensure Blanchett's head isn't lost into darkness. The backdrop, which looks like canvas, is also illuminated by a kicker light to ensure that Blanchett's right arm isn't lost into darkness as well.

   

    All in all, Leibovit'z stunning and dramatic editorial photography is what makes her the go-to person for the best photo.