ANNIE LEIBOVITZ

Annie Leibovitz was born in Connecticut on October 2nd 1949, Annie was interested in photography from a young age, and took her fist pictures when her father was stationed in the Philippines during the Vietnam war. In 1970, annie started her career as a staff photographer at the recently launched Rolling Stones magazine, by 1973 she was appointed chief photographer the magazine, a job she continued in until 1983. Annie Leibovitz is one of the worlds most renowned photographers, and is known for using innovative techniques and taking often controversial photos. Leibovitz attracted a lot of controversy when photographing a topless 15 year old Miley Cyrus for Vanity Fair.

This photo of John Lennon and Yoko Ono was taken on the 8th of December 1980, only five hours before
Lennon was shot and killed, this was the last professional photograph of John Lennon, Lennon said of the photo,
"you have captured our relationship exactly" This photo has been taken from a high angle, giving us an ariel view of the subjects, the subjects are lit from above, which eliminates any shadows and gives us a sense of simplicity. Lennon has been positioned in a foetal pose, attached to Ono, this shows us his dependance on Ono, and portrays his feelings of unconditional love towards her.

This photo of a 15 year old Miley Cyrus was taken by Leibovitz for the May 2008 issue of Vanity Fair  Magazine,
the picture attracted a great deal of controversy, mostly because of Cyrus' young age, and her pre-teen fan base, for
whom she was a role model. Leibovitz said of the portrait, " I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted." This picture of  Miley has been done against a neutral background, so not to distract us from Miley herself, who is roughly centred in the portrait. The use of Rembrandt lighting shows depth and exaggerates the curves and contours of the subject.  Cyrus is covered only by a sheet, which makes us feel as though we are seeing her at a vulnerable time, which is aided by Cyrus wearing no make up, giving us the feel that this was not a prepared photo shoot, although it was. Miley's delicate and childlike features are also highlighted by the use of lighting, her smooth cheeks and hunched shoulders give us a feeling of innocence, harshly contrasted by the windswept hair, and her almost nudity. This photo also raises many questions about what is art and what is essentially pornography, Leibovitz  is a female photographer, and so the issue of perversion was never raised, but would it have been if the photographer was a man.

This portrait of Johnny Depp and Kate Moss was taken by Leibovitz in 1994, during a shoot with Depp in a New York hotel room, Moss suggested that they get a photograph together. This photo is not what you would typically expect of a glamorous supermodel and an incredibly famous film star. This photo seems grainy, almost dirty, we see the subjects in the middle of a very intimate and vulnerable position. the interior of the hotel room that surrounds them does not seem to be the kind of 5star establishment that you would expect them to be staying in, it seems dark, dingy and dirty, which also reflects the situation that the subjects are in. The lighting seems natural and not controlled, as if we have just walked in on the two, and this is a quick snapshot. The photo also displays the closeness of the subjects, Depp is lay over a naked Moss, which portrays to us that they are both very comfortable with each other.

This iconic picture of Whoopie Goldberg in a bathtub of milk is on of Leibovitz' most famous shots. The picture appeals to me because of the sharp contrast of colour between Goldbergs dark skin and the white of the milk, the picture was inspired by on of Goldbergs films in which she plays a young girl whom uses bleach on her skin to try and be white. The picture, like Goldberg challenges racial stereotypes an highlights the issue of racism, being a black woman in a see full of white people. Goldbergs facial expression in this photo shows her personality, but many have said that the expression she has on her face has racial and political connotations, perhaps showing her disgust or shock  at racism.