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Celebrities As Photographers

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This evening, I was perusing my latest copy of American Photo, and there is a photograph of Keifer Sutherland in the oval office set on his series “24”, alongside the other photographers, and the article (read it here) revealed that he is an avid photographer, and so on.

That got me to thinking, and thus, here is a partial list of people who I researched and determined were avid photographers based upon answers they have given to questions in interviews, or other biographical information, but who am I missing?
Dennis HopperShari BelafonteBrad Pitt
Leonard NimoyDavid BowieKeifer Sutherland
Richard GereSpike JonzeRoddy McDowell
Vigo MortensonPierce BrosnanRosie O’Donnel
Brendan FraserJennifer AnistonNikki Sixx
Tipper GoreAlyssa MilanoAaron Eckhart
SealJennifer BealsHelena Christensen
Lacey ChabertParvin DabasBryan Adams
Joel GreyAston KutcherJason Mraz
Gary BuseyKarl LagerfeldCindy Crawford
Martha StewartDrew CareyDiane Keaton
David BoreanazTabitha SorenAndy Sommers
Barry ZitoJamie Lee Curtis 
So, who am I missing?
(Your insights, after the Jump)


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Originally published on Photo Business News & Forum on February 26, 2009. Comments are closed; this post is part of the archive.

42 thoughts on “Celebrities As Photographers”

  4. Very interesting article – thank you for linking to it.

    I like a fair number of the pictures they posted that Keifer took (along with the rest of the crew) and from reading the article it sounds like he has a good foundation in photography.
    This quote right here: “With the still image it’s the exact opposite. It allows your imagination to examine a moment rather than having it examined for you. As closely related as they are, the still imagery of photography is almost the polar opposite to me of telling a story through moving film.”

    THAT is not a quote of a “snapshot” photographer…
  7. Actually, I care, which is why I asked. So, if you want to dismiss my inquiry, feel free, but I look forward to those of you who make additions to this list!

    Thanks!
  13. Anonymous –

    Yes, I did say American Photo, and when you follow that link, you see that it’s both AmericanPhotoMag.com and PopPhoto.com – as noted in the links at the top left of the page…

    — John
  15. I used to hate celbrity photographers without even considering thier work. Who likes artists who get access and publicity in a new arena simply because they are famous in another.

    Well, while that still bothers me (based, of course, on jealousy!), I had to admit it doesn’t mean their work is not really good. In particular, I respect Bryan Adams fashion work. Perhaps because, often his fame is shown in nothing more than his name in the byline, as opposed to JEFF BRIDGES book with a gimic camera
  22. Leonard Nimoy has been seriously into black and white photography for years. (Some photos NSFW, so you can google if interested).
  24. Tift Merritt. Ian Anderson (of Jethro Tull) is an avid collector of Leicas and other vintage cameras but I’m not sure how much and how seriously he shoots.
  30. Come on. Years ago, it was widely reported that 10 percent of America’s population considered themselves to be avid photographers. Photography is one of the most popular hobbies around. And this was back in the days of expensive film and processing.

    Today, every teenager with a cell phone can consider themselves an avid photographer simply because they take so many pictures of each other for their Facebook pages, blog sites, etc.

    Many art galleries would be thrilled to present a supposed fine art “show” of similar photos from a celebrity’s phone. Just because you’re a celebrity doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a good photographer (although there certainly are some). Neither does being a good photographer necessarily mean one is “celebrity” material.
  31. Who cares?

    Is knowing what celebrities take pictures going to help me grow my business?

    That’s the reason I stopped subscribing to that rag; I got tired of seeing all these celebrities in the issues and not enough “real” photographers being featured between those pages.
  34. John Mayer

    FYI It’s Andy Summers not Sommers. Andy pulled out his camera many times at the end of concerts during the reunion tour to take shots of the crowd. I’ve got photos of him taking photos from the stage.
  37. Gregory Hines. I photographed him back in the early 1990’s and as I recall he had a medium format setup and knew a ton about lighting and portraiture.
  38. Actual good photographers- you are missing good photographers.

    Being silly of course and in all seriousness, there are some decent celeb photogs, but come on, they don’t need the publicity.

    We do.

    Ask 100 people to name a great photographer living today. Most will name Ansel Adams.

    I plan to change that. Now all I need is a disaster, a fake baby-saving video, and my portfolio.
  40. Tim Daly. I have a picture of him with a Nikon DSLR taking a picture of me photographing him during the DNC this summer.
  42. I know this is a little late, but I found it interesting that Aaron Eckhart (who’s on your original list) claimed that he shoots, develops, and prints black and white film in an interview on the Jimmy Kimmel Show.

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