Annie Leibovitz: Life Through a Lens

Annie Leibovitz is a well known photographer who has worked with Vanity Fair, and Rolling Stones. She first worked with photography when she moved to the Philippines, however she learned to take photos in College where the students schooling was influenced by Cartier Bresson and Robert Frank. Through her professional life, working for large magazine companies, she was able to travel the world, and collaborate. Her photos documented staged shoots, but also casual candid shots. Her astounding shots have been those which she challenged societal norms and even pushed her limits. With some of her most famous photos, she wondered how she got away with her work. Her most known work was for the Rolling Stones where she photographed John Lennon and Yoko Ono the day he died. That cover had no words, except the title of the magazine, which made it incredibly powerful and meaningful. The film to me, was incredibly inspirational and her lifestyle is dreamlike. For someone who started photography later in their life, she became so important and respected in the field. I loved the way she interacted and ran her photo shoots because she made it more than just a job, and her passion and social skills were noticeable. I learned that in order to make an outstanding photo you have to put your own touch on it, and that touch might be simple or basic, but nonetheless powerful. Of all of Leibovitz's work, I have seen the picture of John Lennon caressing his wife more than any other photo. 
Music Cover- 
This is an image of the Rolling Stones performing in Philadelphia in 1975 at a concert. I particularly like this photo because through all the lights and the jumping actions you can understand the vibe and the energy at this venue. I also like that this is a freeze action shot because it captures a single moment in time where there is so much excitement. Being freeze action, it sums up what is going on and so from this specific image you realize the energy level like I said, which sets an understanding of what the entire concert may be. In addition, I appreciate the angle of it because it almost feels like you are crowd level which is how most people would see the concert.

Reportage-
This is an image of the Rolling Stones in a casual setting, surrounded by drugs and alcohol. This drug culture was well known for the music industry and frankly, wasn't shocking for this time period. I really like this photo and the candid photos of the Rolling Stones because in order for Annie Leibovitz to understand and capture their life, she had to be fully immersed. Because of her presences with drugs, Leibovitz did have to get help and so in order to document these musicians lives she had to be incredibly brave and vulnerable. This image has a relaxed and peaceful mood, which represents the norms from this time.

Current- 
This is a picture of Keira Knightly from an issue of Vogue. This image is both similar and different from Leibuvitz's early work. The angelic face, posture and background is similar to those of some other work done by her. However, this photo in comparison to the other two I chose, is more staged. As her career went on she shot for a specific purpose with implemented ideas to pull the image together, which was opposite of her candid and natural lifestyle and art experience. Another large difference is the color, it changes the mood and purity to the image. I really liked this image because it had a genuine feel to it by being noticeably different from her other pieces.