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05-Studio vs. Location

The document discusses Annie Leibovitz's preference for photographing subjects in meaningful locations rather than studios. It provides examples of portraits of Agnes Martin, Gloria Steinem, and others that captured the essence of the subject through the location. While studios allow control over lighting and composition, Leibovitz finds locations provide more context and inspiration. The assignment asks readers to photograph someone in a neutral setting and meaningful location to compare the differences.

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24 views

05-Studio vs. Location

The document discusses Annie Leibovitz's preference for photographing subjects in meaningful locations rather than studios. It provides examples of portraits of Agnes Martin, Gloria Steinem, and others that captured the essence of the subject through the location. While studios allow control over lighting and composition, Leibovitz finds locations provide more context and inspiration. The assignment asks readers to photograph someone in a neutral setting and meaningful location to compare the differences.

Uploaded by

mahesh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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5.

STUDIO VS.
LOCATION
CHAPTER RE VIE W

“I’m an observer. I like to When Annie had a studio, she made portraits that seemed to her
be somewhere. I like to to depend on composition more than personality. She didn’t feel
see something unfold. comfortable in the studio as a portraitist. She missed being in a
place that had something to do with the person she was photo-
I love the light changing.
graphing.
The studio doesn’t give
me any of that. I don’t
The shoot with the painter Agnes Martin in Martin’s studio in
have enough to grab Taos, New Mexico, resulted in one of Annie’s favorite portraits.
onto. I miss the story- Martin hadn’t agreed to be photographed by the time Annie ar-
telling aspect.” rived, but after they had had lunch, she asked Annie to come to the
—Annie Leibovitz place she worked every day. There were two rooms with a small
bed and a chair. Annie asked Martin what she did there and she
replied that she sat and waited to be inspired. That was the por-
SU B C H A PTER S
trait that Annie made. The artist waiting for inspiration. It couldn’t
• The Studio have been taken anywhere else.

• Simple Spaces and Composi-


When Annie photographed Gloria Steinem, the plan was to use
tions
a location in Central Park where Steinem went to think and
• On Location meditate. There was a rock that meant something to her. After the
shoot, back in Steinem’s apartment, Annie realized that it was
• Case Study: Gloria Steinem
there, at her desk, that Steinem was most herself, surrounded by
books and papers and the atmosphere of the busy activist she is.

Both the Martin and Steinem portraits are true, but Annie doesn’t
think of them as definitive. “We are so complicated as human
beings,” she says. “I can’t get it in one photograph.”

A S SIG NMENT

• Photograph someone in a neutral situation with a simple


background and then again in a specific location that means
something to them. How does a portrait created in a place with
a studio-like feeling (it can be just a wall) differ from a portrait
taken in a location that has some resonance for the subject?

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ 8
PHOTO INDEX

5 . STUDIO VS . LO CATION

Tony Oursler Robert De Niro Al Pacino


New York City, 2000 New York City, 2000 New York City, 2000

Chuck Close Lucinda Childs


New York City, 2000 New York City, 1999

LeBron James Gloria Steinem


Akron, Ohio, 2009 New York City, 2015

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ 32

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