photographic inspiration

April 9, 2005 6:22 PM

I'm looking for inspiration. The subject is band/musical artist photographs... not live images, but portraits and art shots that accompany articles and are used for band promotion. Can anyone recommend some photographers, websites or individual images for me to check out? (I already know about Annie Leibovitz, Anton Corbijn, Steve Gullick and Chris Buck, but feel free to point out particular shots by these artists that you admire anyhow.)
posted by xo to Media & Arts (10 answers total)

One of my favorite photographers is Danny Clinch. (It's a flash site, click on the star on the upper right and choose "portfolio".) I'm studying photography (2 years down, 2 to go), and I saw him lecture at my school last year, and I immediately fell in love with his work. Right after the lecture, I walked out with my friend, looked at her and said, "I want that man's life."
posted by socialdrinker at 6:46 PM on April 9, 2005

Max Gerber. His camera seems to simply love the faces it photographs.
posted by statolith at 6:50 PM on April 9, 2005

I have a nostalgic fondness for Jill Furmanovsky and Pennie Smith's punk-era work. It wasn't just the cover of "London Calling", although God knows that counts for a lot.
posted by Decani at 7:38 PM on April 9, 2005

E.g - Furmanovsky's Charlie Watts

Lovely.
posted by Decani at 7:39 PM on April 9, 2005

This is quite good. Go to the "Galleries" bit and there's a search feature that lets you look at prints by various rock photographers, including Furmanovsky.
posted by Decani at 7:49 PM on April 9, 2005

Sorry - the search bit is in "Prints", not galleries.
posted by Decani at 7:51 PM on April 9, 2005

A few that haven't been mentioned:
Brian 'B+' Cross
Glen E. Friedman
Charles Peterson
Ricky Powell
posted by box at 10:07 PM on April 9, 2005

Not-so-admired band publicity shots collected here, for tips on what not to do.
posted by obloquy at 11:05 PM on April 9, 2005

Also, Steven Dewall.
posted by statolith at 8:40 AM on April 10, 2005

Danny Clinch is great..
I had a crush on his assistant too..

There's some variation in what people like to use for promotional purposes, sometimes it seems mostly based on what they can get/afford.

Jim Marshall has some candid portraits and studio portraits in his newish book "proof". I wasn't blown away by it, but it sets one photo from a whole sheet on the right page, against the proof sheet on the left. In the intro he worries that it might be vain, I think it's refreshingly honest.

William Claxton also has some spectacular candid portraits, but look to his work pre-1980, something strange happened to his work, and I can't believe it's the same person shooting now.

Of the names mentioned so far, Clinch and Friedman would be my first recommendations.

Lee Friedlander also did a lot of candid portraits and album cover work (I would guess he did promo work too) Counter to Friedman, he doesn't glamorize subjects - his pictures generally have a deep feeling of understanding.
posted by Jack Karaoke at 11:15 AM on April 10, 2005