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A Photographer's Life: 1990-2005
“I don’t have two lives,” Annie Leibovitz writes in the Introduction to this collection of her work from 1990 to 2005. “This is one life, and the personal pictures and the assignment work are all part of it.” Portraits of well-known figures–Johnny Cash, Nicole Kidman, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Keith Richards, Michael Jordan, Joan Didion, R2-D2, Patti Smith, Nelson Mandela, Jack Nicholson, and William Burroughs–appear alongside pictures of Leibovitz’s family and friends, reportage from the siege of Sarajevo in the early Nineties, and landscapes. The pictures form a narrative of a life rich in contrasts and continuities. The photographer has a long relationship that ends with illness and death. She chronicles the celebrations and heartbreaks of her large and robust family. She has children of her own. All the while, she is working, and the public work resonates with the themes of the life.
472 pages, Hardcover
Published October 3, 2006
11 people are currently reading
1614 people want to read
About the author
Annie Leibovitz
84 books227 followersAnna-Lou "Annie" Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer whose style is marked by a close collaboration between the photographer and the subject.
Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Leibovitz is the third of six children in a Jewish family. Her mother was a modern dance instructor, while her father was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force. The family moved frequently with her father's duty assignments, and she took her first pictures when he was stationed in the Philippines.
In high school, she became interested in various artistic endeavours, and began to write and play music. She attended the San Francisco Art Institute. She became interested in photography after taking pictures when she lived in the Philippines, where her Air Force father was stationed during the Vietnam War. For several years, she continued to develop her photography skills while she worked various jobs, including a stint on a kibbutz Amir in Israel for several months in 1969.
When Leibovitz returned to America in 1970, she worked for the recently launched Rolling Stone magazine. In 1973, publisher Jann Wenner named Leibovitz chief photographer of Rolling Stone. Leibovitz worked for the magazine until 1983, and her intimate photographs of celebrities helped define the Rolling Stone look.
In 1975, Leibovitz served as a concert-tour photographer for The Rolling Stones' Tour of the Americas.
Since 1983, Leibovitz has worked as a featured portrait photographer for Vanity Fair.
Leibovitz sued Paramount Pictures for copyright infringement of her Vanity Fair cover photograph of a pregnant Demi Moore from a 1991 issue titled "More Demi Moore." Paramount had commissioned a parody photograph of Leslie Nielsen, pregnant, for use in a promotional poster for the 1994 comedy Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult. The case, Leibovitz v. Paramount Pictures Corp., has become an important fair use case in U.S. copyright law. At trial, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York found that Paramount's use of the photo constituted fair use because parodies were likely to generate little or no licensing revenue. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed.
Born in Waterbury, Connecticut, Leibovitz is the third of six children in a Jewish family. Her mother was a modern dance instructor, while her father was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force. The family moved frequently with her father's duty assignments, and she took her first pictures when he was stationed in the Philippines.
In high school, she became interested in various artistic endeavours, and began to write and play music. She attended the San Francisco Art Institute. She became interested in photography after taking pictures when she lived in the Philippines, where her Air Force father was stationed during the Vietnam War. For several years, she continued to develop her photography skills while she worked various jobs, including a stint on a kibbutz Amir in Israel for several months in 1969.
When Leibovitz returned to America in 1970, she worked for the recently launched Rolling Stone magazine. In 1973, publisher Jann Wenner named Leibovitz chief photographer of Rolling Stone. Leibovitz worked for the magazine until 1983, and her intimate photographs of celebrities helped define the Rolling Stone look.
In 1975, Leibovitz served as a concert-tour photographer for The Rolling Stones' Tour of the Americas.
Since 1983, Leibovitz has worked as a featured portrait photographer for Vanity Fair.
Leibovitz sued Paramount Pictures for copyright infringement of her Vanity Fair cover photograph of a pregnant Demi Moore from a 1991 issue titled "More Demi Moore." Paramount had commissioned a parody photograph of Leslie Nielsen, pregnant, for use in a promotional poster for the 1994 comedy Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult. The case, Leibovitz v. Paramount Pictures Corp., has become an important fair use case in U.S. copyright law. At trial, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York found that Paramount's use of the photo constituted fair use because parodies were likely to generate little or no licensing revenue. On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
March 18, 2019
Re-read (per log), but I recall little of the first time. This book is even weightier than her latest, but suffers in comparison, to my eye. WAY more personal stuff, which will be of more interest to others, but was of intermittent interest to me. Still some outstanding celebrity portraits, but none so spectacular as the latest. One curious overlap: Scarlett Johanssen, in the same scanty fake-jewelled bolero as in the more recent book. I prefer the version in the later book..
Overall, a much quieter & more personal book. In this period, Leibovitz unwisely bought & took on the renovation of 200 ac of one of the old Gilded-Age estates in upstate New York. It's a beautiful place, but was way beyond her means, resulting in her borrowing US$15.5 million in 2009, mortaging all her property, real estate, and future earnings to get out of the financial hole she had dug: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_L... As you can read there, lawsuits and more problems followed. Her parents both died, as did Susan Sontag, her long-term companion and lover. All of this is reflected in the darker tone of that part of the book.
So this one is more for die-hard fans. For me, 3+ stars on reread.
Overall, a much quieter & more personal book. In this period, Leibovitz unwisely bought & took on the renovation of 200 ac of one of the old Gilded-Age estates in upstate New York. It's a beautiful place, but was way beyond her means, resulting in her borrowing US$15.5 million in 2009, mortaging all her property, real estate, and future earnings to get out of the financial hole she had dug: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_L... As you can read there, lawsuits and more problems followed. Her parents both died, as did Susan Sontag, her long-term companion and lover. All of this is reflected in the darker tone of that part of the book.
So this one is more for die-hard fans. For me, 3+ stars on reread.
October 10, 2015
This book is huge and very heavy, but it has tons of pictures to flip through. It's a great insight into the life of Annie Leibovitz's life. We see photos from some of her regular paid jobs and then more intimate photos from her personal life. It was gripping to see photos of both her father and her partner, Susan Sontag's, deaths. There are also some portraits of celebrities that were great. Because I'm studying photography right now, I really enjoyed this book.
February 28, 2008
This book is really heavy....if you do not like it you can always use it to prop open a window.
September 28, 2022
a lovely read! it’s amazing how leibovitz always takes such moving photographs, from the most intimate ones of susan sontag to the magazine cover ones of celebrities! truly a very wonderful book.
May 15, 2008
I probably found this book especially interesting because I read it after attending an exhibit by the same name at one of our local art museums.
I’ve always admired Leibovitz’s photographs and I knew a little about her life, but I never realized how central family (both hers and others’) are for her.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the landscape photos. I particularly enjoyed the photos of her family, and the stories behind them. Perusing the text and viewing the photographs, it made me wish that there were more photos of unknown people and fewer of celebrities. I’d actually find those more interesting, I think.
Her photographs are remarkable. There are some I can look at for long periods. I don’t know how she attains what she does, but there seems to be magic in many of her photos of people, especially those in her family. The expression that she’s able to capture make her work true art. Her family members are so fortunate to have her photos as their family snapshots.
I’ve always admired Leibovitz’s photographs and I knew a little about her life, but I never realized how central family (both hers and others’) are for her.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the landscape photos. I particularly enjoyed the photos of her family, and the stories behind them. Perusing the text and viewing the photographs, it made me wish that there were more photos of unknown people and fewer of celebrities. I’d actually find those more interesting, I think.
Her photographs are remarkable. There are some I can look at for long periods. I don’t know how she attains what she does, but there seems to be magic in many of her photos of people, especially those in her family. The expression that she’s able to capture make her work true art. Her family members are so fortunate to have her photos as their family snapshots.
May 8, 2019
This is the finest photo book I've ever had the pleasure of indulging in. The juxtaposition Leibovitz provides, between her professional career and personal life, described in the forward as indistinguishable, is spellbinding. On an emotional level, she appeals to both photographers, journalists, and those wanting a little more time with their loved ones. The choice of filling the rich glossy pages with the noir shadows of black and white, rubbing shoulders with high quality decadent magazine portraiture, fills the reader with a sense of both chaos and serenity. We see into Annie's mind. A Photographer's Life provides the reader with the closest we may ever reach to truly seeing through Leibovitz's penetrative and loving gaze, as she examines her family, her lover, her children, and her environment. The lack of refinement in these candid shots, the fuzzy and slightly out of focus quality in some frames, breathe life and truth into the content, and into Annie. She's not perfect, and neither are we. And that's what makes the book so perfect. It humanizes, and it makes the reader believe that they, too, may photograph like Leibovitz. An absolute masterpiece.
March 6, 2022
What intrigued me: I have been watching the Masterclass Annie Leibovitz Teaches Photography and a lot of the images used in the class are in this book, so I decided to take a look.
What I liked: It is a visual memoir, and it shows the peaks and valleys of family life. Most of the images are black and white portraits, so the color landscapes stood out to me.
What I didn't like: N/A
Favorite quote: "I can see how you might want to turn your back on society and paint lakes and mountains."
Favorite images:
Susan's sixtieth birthday, the Nile, Egypt, January 1993
The Malecon, Havana, 1996
Slimline battle droid on the set of Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Pinewood Studios, London, 2002 - Vanity Fair Star Wars Portfolio
What I liked: It is a visual memoir, and it shows the peaks and valleys of family life. Most of the images are black and white portraits, so the color landscapes stood out to me.
What I didn't like: N/A
Favorite quote: "I can see how you might want to turn your back on society and paint lakes and mountains."
Favorite images:
Susan's sixtieth birthday, the Nile, Egypt, January 1993
The Malecon, Havana, 1996
Slimline battle droid on the set of Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Pinewood Studios, London, 2002 - Vanity Fair Star Wars Portfolio
May 6, 2019
This great big eight-and-one-half pound book runs straight as an arrow through time, but emotionally it's a terrifying rollercoaster. Through the loved, the family, the rich, the famous, the ugly beautiful, and more of the empty famous, I emerged exhausted, elated, and feeling that I haven't lived at all. Not a single gram could have been cut. Annie Leibovitz is the greatest photographer of our baby boomer generation, and probably a couple before and since. She exuberantly destroys the myth of the starving artist whose talent is proportional to his poverty.
Read
April 11, 2020Because I wanted to revisit this, I kept it on my Currently Reading shelf even though I probably did "read" most of it one sitting last year (it's mostly photographs). With the library now closed indefinitely, it will likely be a long time before I can revisit it, yet doing so is still a goal. I'm most interested in the photographs of Susan Sontag--especially those Leibovitz took of Sontag just before and after her death--because confronting the physicality of someone so cerebral (and, indeed, one of my ultimate idols) is, I suspect, important.
March 4, 2018
4.0 / 5.0
Big Book! Enjoyed large picture format. Stunning work (particularly) profiles. Interspersed with unnerving intimate family shots. emotionally intense, but not as expressive as latest work. What a life!
Big Book! Enjoyed large picture format. Stunning work (particularly) profiles. Interspersed with unnerving intimate family shots. emotionally intense, but not as expressive as latest work. What a life!
May 13, 2024
This book is a collection of Annie Leibovitz' professional and personal photographs from 1990-2005. She is a brilliant photographer. These powerful, haunting photographs are full of birth, life, death and grief. Looking through these photographs, I strongly felt the passage of time. What time gives; what time takes away.
December 21, 2025
Annie Liebovitz is an overrated photographer but an essential component of our contemporary celebrity machine. This book slushes together personal snaps with glossy photos of celebs right next to periodic attempts at journalism. A self-indulgent celebration of life as a wealthy elite.
December 30, 2017
Filled my day with beauty, I love Annie L and her photography 💚💚💚!!!
May 5, 2021
A walk through her life, some of it way personal. Many beautiful photographs within. Not for kids.
February 2, 2022
I love this book. A beautiful visual love story to Susan Sontag with the ups and downs mixed in of Annie’s professional work and life.
July 21, 2022
Huge collection of Annie Leibovitz's photographs of family, friends, world events, and celebrities. Impressive.
January 22, 2023
Was not ready to cry over Annie's love and devotion towards Susan
March 26, 2023
One of her most powerful photo collections.
October 17, 2023
There’s such emotion in these photos,,incredible
April 7, 2025
Hearing your laugh makes my pulse race. What if we rewrite the rhythm of the night with a touch more...you?
September 10, 2025
I think Annie Leibovitz is very talented, but I didn't think this was one of her better compilations.
December 11, 2025
I enjoyed this, and believe it to have captured what she sought.
October 25, 2010
I have spent a lot of time in many small moments looking through and at single images in this huge book. Originally 2 or three photograph's and a 'series' caught my eye and prompted it being added to my collection.
I've since found several more photos that elevate this to a favorite book and it doesn't sit on the coffee table.
The death photos of Susan Sontag are gripping and somber.
Political statements abound within this work but are mostly subtle and intense without being 'in your face'.
A.L. had a rough year in 2009. Hope she can right the ship and produce more work of this caliber again soon.
[ Portions of this review are from my blog Expensive Debris. The entry that refers to this book is Looking at Pictures ]
I've since found several more photos that elevate this to a favorite book and it doesn't sit on the coffee table.
The death photos of Susan Sontag are gripping and somber.
Political statements abound within this work but are mostly subtle and intense without being 'in your face'.
A.L. had a rough year in 2009. Hope she can right the ship and produce more work of this caliber again soon.
[ Portions of this review are from my blog Expensive Debris. The entry that refers to this book is Looking at Pictures ]
December 17, 2014
I recently went through this book while at Strand Books in NY. As previous reviewers have mentioned, it is heavy. The title's sorta trite and misnomerical (this isn't a true retrospective, it's just an overview of the climax and Annie is is still fairly absent--aside from a few nude selfies and self-taken family photos--from that). This is all perfectly fine, as I didn't read the book for its author, but one of its subjects: Susan Sontag. The memento mori-style photos of her (which drew much scrutiny from Sontag's son, author David Rieff) were much more prevalent throughout the book than I'd initially assumed. Unlike several reviewers of this text, I'd never seen A Photographer's Life exhibit, just a B&W scan of a sampling of those photos. Enjoyed the shots from the early 90s when Susan was enjoying intellectual and playful trips to Paris (the bear suit!) and organizing a play in Sarajevo...before the second and third terrible bouts of cancer.
April 3, 2009
I wish I liked this book more, because I really like her work. But the photos she chose for this personal memoir of her life included a lot of photos that were undoubtedly special to her, but to which the reader is clueless. She doesn't explain much, which is fine (it's a photography "essay" of sorts, and so her art should speak for herself) but she traveled all over the world, and usually with Susan Sonntag (her partner) and rarely put really phenomenal shots of these places in the book (only so-so, semi-surrealist shots. That's not really the Annie we all know and love. No beautiful portraits or classic, pure photojournalism. And naked self-portraits? No thanks. I just didn't think it would be that kind of book, as I assumed her eye for artistic photography would carry over into how she photographed her real life, as well. It did not.
February 17, 2008
An intimate portrait of the author's life, sprinkled bizarrely with celebrity photos. A friend of mine criticized Leibovitz' juxtaposition of the intimacy of her life with Susan Sontag, and Sontag's death, with her usual celebrity shots. However, Leibovitz explains in the introduction that this was how her life is. She moves constantly from intimate personal spaces into this other world that is her work. In that context, I was okay with the mixture of photos. The personal photos are VERY intimate...and it was hard to view the pictures of Sontag's body near the end--the collection does a very good job of giving one a kind of window into the author's life, and in a way, as she says, into her grieving process.
September 20, 2015
These photographs must be read as a text. The way, they appear in the book, reveals a true (love & life) story and the book indeed is a very personal statement of Annie Leibovitz. The beautiful surroundings in Jordan and Susan Sontag in Petra, the pictures of Annies dancing mum and her close-up portrait, the appartements in New York and Paris, Susans 60th birthday and Susan lying on a couch in the pond house, Susan holding baby Sarah Cameron and the empty office in the pond house after Susans death. The pregnant Demi Moore and Annie selv. Hillary Clinton, Patti Smith. Susans office with Vulcano Lover notes. Susans collection of stones. The castle of Neuschweinstein and the view over Hudson river from the New York appartement. And much more. Beautiful.
September 26, 2013
In comparison to the previous collection of Leibovitz's work that I read (On Work) this book has a much more personal touch. There are far fewer of her "professional" pieces (famoous portraits, Vogue editorials, etc) and instead we are given family photographs, travel montages, and candid shots which reveal the intimacy of her relationship with Susan Sontag. While many of these images are similar in subject and style to those seen in any family album (and are therefore not really a credit to Leibovitz's artistic portfolio), they still give readers a view behind the curtain to see a life that is no different than any other human being's.
October 29, 2007
while her celebrity portraits are well executed, always nailing the glam ones and intimate portraits alike it is her "private" photographs that give her the title as one of the best photographers of this century. her ability to private candide moments of her family show that she was always working, even subconsciously. one of my favorite photograph's of susan (susan at the house on hedges lane, wainscott, long island, 1988
January 18, 2008
this was a book i picked up and flipped through one night at friend's house after drinking too much wine. i didn't expect annie l's book to be so personal. with an unflinching eye she captured the erosion of her lover's health to cancer. the photos of susan sontag's corpse were so incredibly painful to look at. i was expecting to see photographs of her celebrity subjects...and i got more than i bargained for. in particular the photos of susan sontag receive chemotherapy and shaving her head made me cry. it was an embarassing yet powerful episode brought on by a little too much alcohol.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews