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Annie Leibovitz: Portraits 2005-2016
In this new collection from Annie Leibovitz, one of the most influential photographers of our time, iconic portraits sit side by side never-before-published photographs. Afterword by Annie Leibovitz.
Annie Leibovitz: Portraits 2005-2016 is the photographer's follow-up to her two landmark books, Annie Leibovitz: Photographs, 1970-1990 and A Photographer's Life, 1990-2005. In this new collection, Leibovitz has captured the most influential and compelling figures of the last decade in the style that has made her one of the most beloved talents of our time. Each of the photographs documents contemporary culture with an artist's eye, wit, and an uncanny ability to personalize even the most recognizable and distinguished figures.
Annie Leibovitz: Portraits 2005-2016 is the photographer's follow-up to her two landmark books, Annie Leibovitz: Photographs, 1970-1990 and A Photographer's Life, 1990-2005. In this new collection, Leibovitz has captured the most influential and compelling figures of the last decade in the style that has made her one of the most beloved talents of our time. Each of the photographs documents contemporary culture with an artist's eye, wit, and an uncanny ability to personalize even the most recognizable and distinguished figures.
316 pages, Hardcover
First published October 25, 2017
6 people are currently reading
351 people want to read
About the author
Annie Leibovitz
84 books228 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 41 reviews
March 17, 2019
Boy, is this one off to a booming start: Near the beginning, you will find a full-page spread from 2006: The Donald at the wheel of a silver, gull-wing sportster. Melania, hugely pregnant and scantily clad in gold lamé, coming down the back stairway of a Gulfstream.... Classic. I have NO IDEA how she gets people to pose the way she does. Trump is preceded by a buff, bare-naked Lady Gaga, back arched and VERY fit. A nice pairing, I thought. Two hucksters!
Queen Elizabeth looks great at age 90! Here's Annie @ an earlier session, where the BBC got their knickers in a twist: "She has a real sense of duty and was feisty. It’s great when you get a live one.”
P. 269, an introspective JK Rowling in 2000. P. 271, double-spread of the Gryffinder Quidditch team:
cute kids, bizarre costumes. Movie set, I presume. Classic!
And the book opens with an (uncredited) photo of Annie with her three daughters. Sweet. Second photo is Kim Kardashian & Kanye West with baby North West[!] in hir nursery, Kim & Kanye both taking selfies, family group backed by an oversize mirror.... Can we say, Narcissus overload?
No index! Bah. Well, kinda sorta, a list of people photographed at the end. And the pagination is erratic at best. OK, it's a book for browsing. You'll find your own favorites. Comments have some previews, and Annie's comments. 6 stars! Most highly recommended.
==============
Here's an excellent preview & profile, by Alexandra Wolfe:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/annie-le... [paywalled, I think] -- I'm always happy to send copies of WSJ stuff to GRers. Just ask. Bonus photos online!
Sample:
Photographer Annie Leibovitz is more famous than some of her subjects, and she doesn’t give much thought to making them comfortable with her attention. “I don’t think it’s my job to make them relax by the time they sit down,” she says. “They have to come to terms with who they are and what they look like or not.”
'
'
Her favorite portraits by another photographer are the hundreds that Alfred Stieglitz took of his wife Georgia O’Keeffe. “His relationship with her in the portraits was so intimate and beautiful,” she says. She particularly likes Stieglitz’s nude photographs of O’Keeffe. “They’re probably the best photographs ever done, because of the intimacy.”
Queen Elizabeth looks great at age 90! Here's Annie @ an earlier session, where the BBC got their knickers in a twist: "She has a real sense of duty and was feisty. It’s great when you get a live one.”
P. 269, an introspective JK Rowling in 2000. P. 271, double-spread of the Gryffinder Quidditch team:
cute kids, bizarre costumes. Movie set, I presume. Classic!
And the book opens with an (uncredited) photo of Annie with her three daughters. Sweet. Second photo is Kim Kardashian & Kanye West with baby North West[!] in hir nursery, Kim & Kanye both taking selfies, family group backed by an oversize mirror.... Can we say, Narcissus overload?
No index! Bah. Well, kinda sorta, a list of people photographed at the end. And the pagination is erratic at best. OK, it's a book for browsing. You'll find your own favorites. Comments have some previews, and Annie's comments. 6 stars! Most highly recommended.
==============
Here's an excellent preview & profile, by Alexandra Wolfe:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/annie-le... [paywalled, I think] -- I'm always happy to send copies of WSJ stuff to GRers. Just ask. Bonus photos online!
Sample:
Photographer Annie Leibovitz is more famous than some of her subjects, and she doesn’t give much thought to making them comfortable with her attention. “I don’t think it’s my job to make them relax by the time they sit down,” she says. “They have to come to terms with who they are and what they look like or not.”
'
'
Her favorite portraits by another photographer are the hundreds that Alfred Stieglitz took of his wife Georgia O’Keeffe. “His relationship with her in the portraits was so intimate and beautiful,” she says. She particularly likes Stieglitz’s nude photographs of O’Keeffe. “They’re probably the best photographs ever done, because of the intimacy.”
December 28, 2025
Title says it all: huge collection of Leibovitz's portrait work up through 2016, so ending at a happy pont, with numerous formal and informal shots of the Obamas, and a nice picture of a hard-working Hillary, soon to be our next president. In fact, the only reference to Trump is this cringy vanity shot of a pregnant but still "pouty supermodel" Melania in a gold bikini, and "The Donald" sitting in a (left-hand drive?) gullwing Merc that he couldn't drive to save his life:
And speaking of vanity, I also got a kick out of this meta image: Annie taking a photo of Kanye taking a photo of Kim taking a selfie of herself and baby North:
But overall, a nice assortment of the immediately recognizable and the less so, (many of which turn out to be East Coast literary, artistic, high society and fashion elites — so at least unrecognizable to me). The book also includes at least a dozen photos I just saw in Annie's Pilgrimage: Georgia O'Keefe's red hills, Marian Anderson's gown, Virginia Wolff's desk…so I guess portraits of things?
Anyway, nice book that readily shows how Leibowitz became the go-to portraitist for so many publications.
And speaking of vanity, I also got a kick out of this meta image: Annie taking a photo of Kanye taking a photo of Kim taking a selfie of herself and baby North:
But overall, a nice assortment of the immediately recognizable and the less so, (many of which turn out to be East Coast literary, artistic, high society and fashion elites — so at least unrecognizable to me). The book also includes at least a dozen photos I just saw in Annie's Pilgrimage: Georgia O'Keefe's red hills, Marian Anderson's gown, Virginia Wolff's desk…so I guess portraits of things?
Anyway, nice book that readily shows how Leibowitz became the go-to portraitist for so many publications.
November 14, 2025
الكتاب حجمه كبير وتقيل ف ده كان مزعج بالنسبة لي
بس جودة الصور والورق حلوة
الكتاب عبارة عن صور للفنانين/ سياسيين او ممثلين صورتهم المصورة من ٢٠٠٥ ل ٢٠١٦
هصور الكتاب وهنزله ع قناة اليوتيوب "عن الفن" لو حد مهتم 👇
3nelfn@
بصور كمان الكتب اللي بستعيرها من المكتبة عنة وبنزلها ع انستجرام 👇
mai.designer92
بس جودة الصور والورق حلوة
الكتاب عبارة عن صور للفنانين/ سياسيين او ممثلين صورتهم المصورة من ٢٠٠٥ ل ٢٠١٦
هصور الكتاب وهنزله ع قناة اليوتيوب "عن الفن" لو حد مهتم 👇
3nelfn@
بصور كمان الكتب اللي بستعيرها من المكتبة عنة وبنزلها ع انستجرام 👇
mai.designer92
December 29, 2017
Leibovitz does amazing work. Her photography is gorgeous. However there is one thing about this book that annoys me a bit (I believe at least one other reviewer mentioned it) and that’s the fact that many of the photographs span over two pages. The reason this is a problem is because they are split in two and it takes away from the portraits. The light hits each page differently, things in them are angled there are so many small things that make this a big turn off. The irony is that this is a visual art book so you would think that the editor would have thought of that in advance. Oh well. Guess not. Anyway that’s where that last star went. It fell down the seam in the middle of the portraits. Other than that the book was great. I’ve been a fan of Leibovitz’s since I first picked up a camera. Her work is some of the best out there. I couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas gift. Thanks Dad!
November 18, 2017
Many of the photographs in this collection are compelling. They consistently give insights into the subjects' character, and they sometimes capture the ambiance, often the working environment, around each person. In a way, the photographs tell stories about people and their places in their world; however, the individual stories don't add up into a larger tale the book is trying to tell. And technically, the photographs, through precise lighting, effectively draw the viewer's eye into the subjects' world and seemingly into their souls.
So as a technical accomplishment, the book is well worth considering. But as enjoyable viewing/reading, the book falls short. Almost without exception, the subjects are deeply serious, and in some cases seemingly sad. This mood, combined with an often dark, shaded color palette, left me in a somber state of mind. I kept longing for some sense of whimsy and fun, something joyous and bright, a change of pace in feeling. The book is important, but not enjoyable; it's an achievement, not a pleasure.
As a result, I ended up asking: Has Leibovitz captured her own mood but not that of her subjects? Was she uninterested in exploring the brighter side of some of these people? Has she imposed her own mood on her subjects, a feeling that's not always their own?
BTW, there are two brief written portions in the book. The first by Alexandra Fuller is strange and mostly unintelligible to me. The second by Leibovitz herself provides some insights into her thinking as she developed this collection of photographs. This passage is workmanlike and informative; it also provides some insights into how portions of Leibovitz's life was touched by sadness (bookended by the passing of Susan Sontag in 2004 and the election loss of Hillary Clinton in 2016). Is it this sadness that informs the 2005-2016 collection of photographs in this book? I don't know.
So as a technical accomplishment, the book is well worth considering. But as enjoyable viewing/reading, the book falls short. Almost without exception, the subjects are deeply serious, and in some cases seemingly sad. This mood, combined with an often dark, shaded color palette, left me in a somber state of mind. I kept longing for some sense of whimsy and fun, something joyous and bright, a change of pace in feeling. The book is important, but not enjoyable; it's an achievement, not a pleasure.
As a result, I ended up asking: Has Leibovitz captured her own mood but not that of her subjects? Was she uninterested in exploring the brighter side of some of these people? Has she imposed her own mood on her subjects, a feeling that's not always their own?
BTW, there are two brief written portions in the book. The first by Alexandra Fuller is strange and mostly unintelligible to me. The second by Leibovitz herself provides some insights into her thinking as she developed this collection of photographs. This passage is workmanlike and informative; it also provides some insights into how portions of Leibovitz's life was touched by sadness (bookended by the passing of Susan Sontag in 2004 and the election loss of Hillary Clinton in 2016). Is it this sadness that informs the 2005-2016 collection of photographs in this book? I don't know.
December 2, 2018
I loved the portraits and the brief notes.
July 28, 2021
Annie Leibovitz is known for her distinctive celebrity portraits and this volume of her work from 2005-2016 did not disappoint in that regard. In addition, she has some interesting portraiture of lesser-known subjects, but who are important in their field of art or dance, plus a few nature photos at the end of the book. Photos that stood out are Donald & Melania Trump (very true to form), Queen Elizabeth (several times), Gloria Steinem, Judi Dench & Helen Mirren (love!), Sharon Stone, Anjelica Huston & Diane Lane (gorgeous), the Weinstein family (did the mother know she raised such a creep?), Peter, Paul & Mary (iconic), Michelle & Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, a naked Jeff Koons (why?), comedic personalities (Schumer, Stewert, Colbert, Fey, McKinnon & Fallon) Michael Bloomberg (cool picture of him in City Hall bullpen), Elizabeth Warren, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Adam Driver (strangely hot), Anderson Cooper with his mother Gloria Vanderbilt, Serena & Venus Williams and Jo Lampert. I enjoyed her afterward and the small bios she wrote about her subjects. Whenever I look at a photography book such as this I wonder how the artist selected the pictures and decided on the order in which they would be shown. Leibovitz has earned her reputation as a great photographer, she really captures a moment and makes the photos real and deep.
November 9, 2017
Ms Leibovitz has continued to document people of our time. Her portraits have captured the moments that have instantly become the past, and some of these photographs may well be the last images we view of a few subjects.
March 26, 2018
Wow--this is an amazing book of portraits. I've known of Leibovitz but never studied her work before; the composition, windows, rooms, reflections, the inside and outside, the gaze--all were fascinating and raised engaging questions about who is where, what does placement/reflection/gaze mean for the portrait sitter, for the artist, for the viewer? I want to view more.
January 2, 2020
Leibovitz is a genius. Her lifetime of work speaks for itself . . . I've been unable to resist her sin the first time I saw her work. Rolling Stone? Vanity Fair? Hard to impossible to recall - although I distinctly remember it was the photo of comedian Whoopi Goldberg in a bathtub full of milk that made me learn her name, and after that, going back through her work, I realize so many photographs that made an impression on me are also her work . . . Lennon and Ono, Demi Moore, presidents, politicians, directors, athletes . . . they shared only 'immortalized on film by Annie Leibovitz.
This collection is huge, both in images and book size - a size barely able to contain her brilliance. Her commentary, at the very end of the book, was joyful to read.
This collection is huge, both in images and book size - a size barely able to contain her brilliance. Her commentary, at the very end of the book, was joyful to read.
May 15, 2018
Overall a great book...although I was surprised that there were plenty of subjects who were not familiar to me. It was very sad, but expected to see the Trumps portrayed in typical fashion, a very pregnant Melania climbing the steps of a private jet wearing a gold string bikini, with the Donald sitting in an expensive sports car looking off into the distance. Ugh. How very non-presidential!! Thankfully, later in the book there were some fantastically elegant and dignified portraits of the Obamas. What a juxtaposition!
November 4, 2017
Annie Leibovitz is a controversial but brilliant photographer. She's faced blizzards of criticism for both her work (portrait of Miley Cyrus) and her stormy personal life (drug addiction, financial issues) but refuses to concede defeat and continues to take amazing pictures. Not all of her photographs are memorable but she is the creator of some of the most famous photographs of modern times e.g. John Lennon/Yoko Ono embracing, Demi Moore pregnant, Whoopi Goldberg bathing in milk.
So, here's her most recent work: a huge coffee table book that weighs six pounds and costs $80.00. It's full of interesting images but hey, skip the intro. Boring.
So..why only three stars? This beautiful book "gutters", that is, many of the images cover two pages and the gutter between the pages ruins the continuity of the image. It isn't just one or two pages, it occurs over and over again and it's maddening. It's like having a commercial break in the middle of a compelling documentary. In other words, the images are great (well. most of them are great. Nobody hits it out of the ballpark all the time) but the book itself is sloppy and it's a damn shame. Helluva way to treat iconic portraits. So, only three stars.
So, here's her most recent work: a huge coffee table book that weighs six pounds and costs $80.00. It's full of interesting images but hey, skip the intro. Boring.
So..why only three stars? This beautiful book "gutters", that is, many of the images cover two pages and the gutter between the pages ruins the continuity of the image. It isn't just one or two pages, it occurs over and over again and it's maddening. It's like having a commercial break in the middle of a compelling documentary. In other words, the images are great (well. most of them are great. Nobody hits it out of the ballpark all the time) but the book itself is sloppy and it's a damn shame. Helluva way to treat iconic portraits. So, only three stars.
February 23, 2018
I placed this on hold at the library on a whim, since I'd only ever seen Leibovitz's work in a pop culture context. I was absolutely enthralled by the photographs, and by the end I was studying each one, drawn into the world she'd created. Some were humorous, most simply poignant. I didn't realize there were short biographies of the subjects at the end of the book until it was too late, but the portraits didn't necessarily need them. The essay in the middle by Alexandra Fuller is only loosely related to the portraits, but still touching. Leibovitz's essay at the end ties everything together, including the sucker punch 2016 election (she has several lovingly rendered portraits of Obama in the book).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2018
Could this book be any larger? It could drop your oxygen levels to "O" just to lift it. I've seen these photographs in varied magazines over the past few years. I suppose my favorites were those of fellow photographer, Sally Mann at her home in Virginia. They seemed the most revealing. There is also a gorgeous shot of Mother Meryl Streep sitting at the end of the Atlantic Ocean, somehow subduing it rather than getting wave slammed. As a book to purchase and dream over? No. Unless you study the page of herbarium from Emily Dickinson's hand, but that picture first appeared in "Pilgrimages."
August 11, 2019
I have been a huge fan of Annie Leibovitz since her remarkable photos in her Rolling Stone years. This book has a beautiful presentation and design, but most of the portraits contained within it aren’t really all that conceptual or memorable. To be sure, there are a few (Kate McKinnon and Yoko Ono come to mind) that you will remember after closing the back cover of the book, but sadly, the majority of them seem unremarkable. Perhaps she felt limited by the nature of who a lot of these people were (politicians, entrepreneurs, fellow artists) but I ended up a bit let down in general. The introduction by her friend Alexandra Fuller is pointless and irritating. Don’t even bother reading it.
March 12, 2018
A massive tome of portraits, this book intercepted with a couple of others I read lately, including "Sticky Fingers", about Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner, and my attempt at starting "Fire and Fury" describing Trump in the White House. Turns out that Leibovitz had an affair with Wenner's wife, yet there is no mention of it in this collection of celebrity photos. Instead, images like the scantily clad, pregnant Melaina Trump precede Trump's shocking election win. Another photo of Harvey Weinstein and his family peers eerily out of this book too.
December 14, 2017
A stunning collection of Ms. Leibovitz’s works between 2005 and 2016. I’ve always admired this particular photographer’s work and this collection certainly doesn’t disappoint. Chuck full of famous and not so famous faces, you’ll find plenty to feast your eyes on since Leibovitz uses her camera like an artist uses her or his brush. Definitely recommended for admirers of photography as a participant and as a connoisseur.
February 2, 2023
- (An absolutely stunning book)
- Describe the mood first: begin post by deciding a color scheme first: warm or cold? Temperature describes the mood. It's much better to end up either extreme since it would give viewer the most visual shock
- Then describe the story. Once decided on the color temperature, decide on the color: red is sexy and lively, blue is depressive and distant, brown is retro etc
- Describe the mood first: begin post by deciding a color scheme first: warm or cold? Temperature describes the mood. It's much better to end up either extreme since it would give viewer the most visual shock
- Then describe the story. Once decided on the color temperature, decide on the color: red is sexy and lively, blue is depressive and distant, brown is retro etc
Read
May 19, 2025An ambivalent collection; so much of Leibovitz's work is a monument to power and fame, framed in a manner which seems to accentuate the glory of the subjects. This contrasts with personal photos, broken down environments and relics of those who, no matter the stature, have passed to the wind. These personal pictures do not eliminate the propagandistic lens of the official portraits, but it does force the attentive viewer to question the truth of the camera's claims.
February 5, 2018
What a great way to spend a Sunday, slowly taking in all the pictures and portraits. There is a biographical sketch in the back of the book to let me know who some of the artists were.
Two of my favorite pictures...
page 60 - Judi Dench and Helen Mirren, 2006
page 258 - Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Anne, 2016
But I could list more!
Two of my favorite pictures...
page 60 - Judi Dench and Helen Mirren, 2006
page 258 - Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Anne, 2016
But I could list more!
August 24, 2019
I never really followed her work that intently, but I’ve admired her work from afar. The book showcases her work in such magnificent scale, it’s almost impossible to not admire many, if not all, of her shots. She definitely belongs around the celebrity spotlight. Her style fits within entertainment. They are both about telling a story.
March 5, 2018
For any of you out there not familiar with Annie Leibovitz' work...I highly recommend you check out her photographs. These aren't just pictures but truly stunning photography. This book contains some famous places as well as famous people in compelling poses.
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January 8, 2021It's like a high school year book of all the people you've never met. The essay at the front is almost too much. Almost.
I won't be able to recover from that Neil Patrick Harris portrait though. Boa constrictor? Anaconda.
I won't be able to recover from that Neil Patrick Harris portrait though. Boa constrictor? Anaconda.
November 20, 2017
Amazing - so talented!
December 20, 2017
Wonderful Photographs capture stories not just faces. Lacking words to express the emotional impact of the images.
December 20, 2017
Amazing images in this collection
December 22, 2017
Beautiful.
December 31, 2017
BEAUTIFUL PICTURES as always, love Leibovitz!!! 💚
January 5, 2018
Nice collection of this well-known photographer's work in large format images.
January 7, 2018
Evocative, in a way that only Leibovitz can capture.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews