Portrait Photographers

Mark Seliger

         Mark was born in Amarillo, TX and was shooting from an early age. He went to school for photography where he studied the history of documentary photography. After school he headed to New York where he eventually gained a position at Rolling Stone as Head Photographer. 

        After over 125 covers and years of relationships built up, Mark stopped shooting for Rolling Stone and branched out to GQ and Vogue and even Conde Nast. Recently he co-created a gallery space that is non-profit and shows many distinguished artists. Now he continues to work with a camera.

Lighting:

Right side, soft, tilted down from above eye level

Location:

Studio

Settings:

Shallow aperture with a fast shutter speed

Pose:

Broad Lighting

Clothes/ Props:

Black Shirt with no props

Composition:

Head Shot, full frame

This image of John Malkovich is full of drama and outrageousness which articulates John's common movie persona. The color scheme of subtle contrast with the lovely addition of birds just makes me smile.

I love this shot because Mark obviously saw that Jeff's hair was an asset which motivated him to pose Jeff as he did. The short lighting created enough shadow to perfectly balance with the highlights in his hair, that mixed with my love of Jeff Bridges drove me to choose this one. 

Bob Gruen

       The best way of conveying Bob's photography career is through simply presenting his list of clients being full of massive names in the music industry. He has shot: The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, John Lennon, Tina Turner, Elvis, Madonna, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and  David Bowie to name a few. 

          The extent of his portfolio is so massive in terms of fame that it seems a crime to not know his name among the musicians. Originally Bob worked for Rock Scene Magazine and later for himself as a free lance photographer where he found success at many large venues. 

Lighting: 

right side tilted down, natural, soft, cloudy conditions

Location:

high rise apartment, New York, New York

Settings:

medium aperture to get all of John in focus, relatively low shutter no harsh darks 

Pose:

Arms folded, stare into camera, slight tilt

Clothes/ Props:

New York shirt, glasses

Composition:

Hips to top of head, face is at top third line

Led Zeppelin as usual half shirtless, I love this image because like most of his images it doesn't look posed at all. Rock and Roll isn't posed and doesn't conform so really his photography conveys the time and the music.

This is definitely not posed and being so you can feel all the emotion of the scene. I like this photo because of the pure spontaneity of it.

    David Bailey

        David is without a doubt the most charismatic photographer of his time. His name is so common place in Britain that he might as well be a celebrity himself. He was THE fashion photographer of the second part of the 20th century. He was Vogues star player shooting endless covers of the most beautiful models in the most exotic locations. 

         Later he created his own magazine, The Ritz, which was wildly popular in it's own right but after that grew to much for Bailey he shut it down. Now he is retired but there have been many documentaries and films made about him.

Lighting:

Split Lighting, artificial and harsh

Location:

Studio

Settings:

High shutter and aperture

Pose:

Stare at camera, level shoulders and camera at eye level

Clothes/ Props:

Suit with white collar, thick rimmed black glasses, cigarette 

Composition:

upper forehead to upper torso, tight frame, subject highlighted with contrast

Andy looks a popping out of the photo as his prints do and I think that is why I love David Bailey as photographer all together. He connects with people and understands them in a way that is noticeable in his photos, this talent is emphasized in this shot which is why I like it.

Never has bed head ever looked more flawless, the beautiful geometric symmetry of the model's face peers out of the chaos of her glossy frizz. The photo just grabs my attention and keeps me staring for hours. I love it.