Annie Leibovitz (1949- )

American portrait photographer. Among her influences you find Henri-Cartier Bresson that I wrote about in the previous post. She started out working for her self. She didnt have assistants and she was not a master of light. After a photoshoot where she had just walked in to the room holding the light and set it down and plugged it in, a writer for american photographer said that the umbrella and strobe reflected in the mirror in her portrait of Jimmy Carter was a “skillfully implemented device". She never thought about this when she plugged the light. (pretty much like my working method) Leibovitz toured with The Rolling Stones and in the 80s her new style of lightning got her in position with Vanity Fair, where she still works. Annie Leibovitz is also the person who took the last picture of John Lennon and Yoko Ono before he was shot. She had a romantic relationship with Susan Sontag and after Susans death, and her fathers and mothers death she got financial troubles. This almost made her lose the rights for all of her pictures. Art Capital Group withdrew its lawsuit against Leibovitz, and extended the due date for repayment of the $24 million loan. Under the agreement, Leibovitz retains control over her work.