Annie Leibovitz on the cover of UK magazine with her Leica M

35mmdelux said:
IMO this statement is absurb. James Nachtwey's work is important, Salgado, and many unkown names working to bring real issues to the front -- these are important. A.L. photogs nothing more than rich people.

Her fotos fall into the "cool" or "nice" category. But compelling or cutting edge forget it.
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Wrong. Her work IS compelling and cutting edge for those clickers who want to excel in that same genre, just as Salgado is important with his branch of photorgaphy. Real issues do not define what is "important" to anyone, the viewer decides that.
 
victoriapio said:
Wrong. Her work IS compelling and cutting edge for those clickers who want to excel in that same genre, just as Salgado is important with his branch of photorgaphy. Real issues do not define what is "important" to anyone, the viewer decides that.
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I wonder, is the Sistine chapel is up for a re-do? 😉
 
Right... A.L. is just a hack who plays the same scratchy record over and over again. The people who pay her huge amounts of money are all morons who have no aesthetic judgment. They stupidly throw their money away on her inferior work.

NOT!!!

There are thousands of pros who are trying to get the assignments A.L. gets. They can't take them away from her. How come? Her reputation and longevity means she can get access. When she has access, she produces a marketable result.
 
Her work is really not the typical RF stuff. So I am really not surprised that in a RF-forum her work is not seen as "real stuff".
Because I am very interested in people photography I can understand how creative she is and how much effort is put into one single photo. Everything (light, pose, clothes, location, accessories) is just perfect.
Perhaps her photos are not not as important as the photos of Salgado et al. But her photos are far more creative.
 
Perhaps anyone could be a "great celebrity photographer" if film stars, rock stars and royalty would take off their clothes and sit for a portrait? Maybe even I could be a great photographer.

Nah.....
 
to me, "a photographer's life" is proof that she's a brilliant editorial photographer, but not particularly good at other genres.
 
A.L's work has what many of us desire: longevity. The work may not address crucial social issues but it carries a weight and importance as well as a historical context. Enough said.
 
patrickjames said:
What she has is access. That does not in itself make her an artist. The photographs that she makes herself (without the help of many assistants) are very pedestrian. I could go on and on, but I think you can tell that I think she is highly overrated. If you want to see creative celebrity photography there are many other photographers that blow her out of the water. Check out Kratochvil if you want to see creative handling of celebrity and important issues. But hey, what the hell do I know?
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I can only read jealousy from you comment. What the heck if you don't like her but that indeed she has access is a result of the work she's doing. When enough people like your work you are commercially successful.That is ususally the purpose of your work.
If you do a photoshooting in a studio or even more so on location, there is no way you do everything from hauling your equipment, set up of light, background etc. by yourself. That's what assistants are paid for, if you are lucky as a photog, you have a good assisant that gives further input and ideas to get a better shot.
If you have the freedom to transport a message that is important to you even better. I personally don't find any specific message in sand dunes or pine trees in fog, they are nice, well captured light and atmosphere but they don't tell me anything.
I'm not a professional photog but sometimes worked as an "assi".

edit:
I just checked out Antonin Kratochvils website - I agree great work - but comparing him and Leibovitz is like comparing apples and pears or a Cadillac and a Hummer, two completely different sides of the same genre
 
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helenhill said:
Some of you Boys
are sooooooo Jealous
or is it Green with Envy.......

Shes a Woman & Talented!!

Best to All- Helen 🙂
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It would be envy, if it were even the case.

She's the boss of a talented recruiter of some very talented assistants.
Don't ignore that team of talented assistants, Honey, and the experienced recruiter who found them.

These idea-rich assistants set up the shots and prep the models and even prepare the cameras for exposure.

Then she steps in, points a camera into the arranged composition and presses the button repeatedly.

The models work especially hard because they know the pictures created by this team will get global exposure.

You don't have to be overly bright to figure out who is spawning the creative ideas and preparing for session and who is taking advantage of her status/label/logo.

Best to All
 
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