Annie Leibovits and Cindy Sherman both have very unique and interesting styles. They have both been significant figures in history, but in very different ways. Annie Leibovits is what I would call a pop culture photographer. She was a photographer for the Rolling Stones magazine and basically was the mother of the photography style they are known for. She portrays many famous people in creative ways instead of the “lime-light” photography we see of celebrities on the red carpet today. Annie is able to show these celebrities in a whole new perspective. For example, she took the rolling stones cover picture of John Lennon. Originally, she wanted the picture to be solely of him, but he insisted that the picture be taken with his wife, Yoko Ono. She decided to try to recreate a picture on one of his albums, but instead she made a new, stunning photograph of Lennon completely nude attached to Yoko.
Her artistic vision has been misinterpreted and become offensive at times, though. She took portraits of Miley Cirus supposedly nude which offended a lot of parents since Cyrus was a former Disney star and role model for children. The parents took this picture as sexually perverse, but the point of the photo was to show Cyrus in a natural paradigm, little make-up or clothing. The misinterpretation of Annie Leibovits work takes root in the sexualization of the human form seen so often in America.
Annie Developed interesting techniques of lighting in her career, also. Her sets consisted of elaborately placed reflectors and lights- tons of them. These lighting techniques create the eerie or magical feel of her photos. Her lighting allows her to convey different messages of her subjects, which is her main goal. She uses her photography to explore the aspects of celebrities that the common audience does not get to see.
Cindy Sherman is a completely different entity, but like Leibovits, she approaches photography in a highly creative way. Sherman is much more a fine arts photographer than Leibovits. She used her art to comment on social issues such as feminism. Her most recognizable work is known as the Untitled Film Stills where she took photos as herself as the subject. These photos were not to be mistaken as portraits of herself, though. She was the vehicle of her ideas in the photo. She would dress up in different costumes to become almost like an actor or character when she modeled. In these photos she portrays herself as archetypical women such as the housewife, the prostitute or temptress, and the damsel in distress. Each of her photos are so unique and ambiguous that the portrait quality disappears in them meaning that the viewer cannot get an idea of Sherman’s personality because she is playing a role.
Her next series were a bit more shocking. She did a very dark series in which she portrayed fairytale-like