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depth of field
May 16, 2013

Photographer Mark Seliger on Shooting Barack Obama, Cindy Sherman, Kurt Cobain, and More

By James Lim

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Photo: Mark Seliger

Mark Seliger made a name for himself in the nineties with his now iconic portraiture work for Rolling Stone magazine. From that memorable shot of the nude Red Hot Chili Peppers to one of the last portraits of Kurt Cobain, Seliger quickly cemented his status as one of the leading portrait photographers of his time. The photographer has since shot a diverse array of fashion work for Vogue Italia, Vanity Fair, and Details.

When shooting, he likens the process to riding “a roller coaster wherever it will take me.” He continues, “Sometimes everybody understands you [and] gets out of your way but sometimes you have to adapt.” We sat down with Seliger in his West Village studio to chat about what he looks for in subjects, his struggles with being satisfied with his work, and the difficulty of shooting a timeless fashion picture. Plus, in the slideshow ahead, we asked Seliger to explain some of his most marquee works, including portraits of Cobain, Barack Obama, and Cindy Sherman.

What do you look for when shooting a subject?
It depends on the idea, but for the most part, it’s a connection. There’s usually a process, an attitude; some sense of essence, connectedness, and even humor. I think there’s always a really nice place for the subtlest and simplest amount of humor. There’s a real kind of palette of ideas that go into taking a picture.

What has been on that palette for you in the past?
There’s nothing more seductive than someone looking right at you. That’s a process I try to get to, as often as possible. Whether it’s a sense of who that person is, their essence, or whether it’s telling you something with their eyes, leading you to a different place. I think that’s probably the craft of being a good portrait photographer.

So you’re adaptable when you’re shooting.
Portraiture usually takes you on its own ride. Usually, the sitting experience for a subject lasts as long as you want it to be. Or it can be just a couple of frames, depending on who you’re photographing.

Like when you’re shooting an actor on a two-hour time constraint versus a two-day fashion portfolio?
It depends what kind of celebrity you’re shooting. If it’s an actor, I always say that you’re giving them a role to play. I try to give them a stor yline and help them along that process. When you’re shooting a fashion editorial, you’re really telling a story through your hired guns; the models, you’re teaching them what you want to say [in the photograph]. You’re giving [the models] the same kind of role, but usually they don’t have much of a say [in the role], they just play the role. A great model, though, is really going to amp up what the story is. That’s what’s mostly fun about fashion. It gets theatrical very fast.

Is it more limiting shooting celebrities?
You have less room to control [the role] because they’re going to weigh in. [But] you also have the advantage of instant recognition. The viewer is going to recognize who they are very quickly. That’s very much a benefit to how a photograph is being responded to. I think it’s much more difficult to take a timeless fashion picture.

Norman Jean Roy touched on a similar idea about fashion imagery these days.
We’re saturated with those kind of images. What really divides those worlds from something that is memorable to something that is serviceable is that a great fashion picture takes a lot of personal attitude and support from all sides. Great story, great clothing, great model, great hair and makeup. All those stars have to align in order for [the image] to became an interesting photograph, even though you think it’s going to represent a certain timelessness, usually it won’t. That’s an even quicker reinvention, in terms of what looks up to date and what looks dated.

What do you make of your success?
I started pretty young, shooting for magazines when I was 26. I think it’s really about persistence and doing it a lot; it helps tremendously. I also think opportunity has helped, being at the right place at the right time. The golden age of magazines is a time I hope is not over, I hope it continues, but it’s a different experience than what it was fifteen years ago. Everything was a big, splashy layout [then]. But I still feel like one great photograph is enough; it’s not the quantity you leave, it’s about the pieces you’re really satisfied with. At the end of day, when you’re cycling through all [your] material, there’s a short list of images that I’m really happy with.

Any struggles?
My own struggle with being satisfied is probably my best friend. I’m never really satisfied with what I’m doing. I always feel as if I could have found a better way to approach it or a missed opportunity. I guess now I feel there are certain images that I’m excited about still, but, you know, it’s your work, so you tend not to necessarily present it to yourself. It’s usually just there in the archives.

How are you able to create images that allow the viewer to connect with the photograph?
I think the most important thing for a photographer to understand is observation. You can read somebody pretty quickly if you spend a second and you walk slightly in front. Even if you’re engaged in a conversation, be aware of what’s going on with them. Sometimes someone will just gesticulate or they’ll cock their heads a certain way, which is a great starting point of the way you want them to react in a photograph. Making a great portrait sometimes is about picking up on those idiosyncrasies and personality traits that people have. You can also create more of that into a hyperbole by simply allowing those observations to be turned up. But you need to have a starting point.

The portrait photographers that we tend to idolize have a great sense of design and compassion. I think the marriage of compassion and design is really what makes, in my opinion, a really wonderful moment.

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1 / 13 Photos
"Some of the personal work that I've self-assigned like this, for example, was really inspired about printmaking. So we started from a place of p... "Some of the personal work that I've self-assigned like this, for example, was really inspired about printmaking. So we started from a place of platinum-plated printmaking and learned the process for 7 years and then we enlarged the prints to 30x40. It made a much larger, handmade print, which was really difficult, and then I applied real general themes of photography like still-life, landscapes, and nudes, and applied that to this particular process." Photo: Courtesy of Mark Seliger Studio
Bruce Springsteen, NYC, 2007 "This was shot on a 8x10 Polaroid and it was for Bruce's album, Magic." Photo: Courtesy of Mark Seliger S... Bruce Springsteen, NYC, 2007 "This was shot on a 8x10 Polaroid and it was for Bruce's album, Magic." Photo: Courtesy of Mark Seliger Studio
Dennis, New York, New York, June 26, 2009 "I was at a Jane's Addiction concert in Jones Beach one summer and saw Dennis walking through the ... Dennis, New York, New York, June 26, 2009 "I was at a Jane's Addiction concert in Jones Beach one summer and saw Dennis walking through the crowd, as if the Red Sea parted. I went up to him, gave him my card, and asked if I could do a portrait of him. He gave me this really deep Brooklyn accent and goes, 'I've been thinking about getting a headshot.'" Photo: Courtesy of Mark Seliger Studio
Barack Obama, The White House, Washington, DC, 2010 "This portrait was probably a 30-second experience [of me shooting him] in the White Hou... Barack Obama, The White House, Washington, DC, 2010 "This portrait was probably a 30-second experience [of me shooting him] in the White House. He realized that I was doing this kind of particular photograph of him, [so] he said he wanted to move on after we shot for about 30 seconds. But the moment we got with him was perfect. Even though it's the back of his head, there's still a sense of greatness to him. I used a 6x7 Pentax camera." Photo: Courtesy of Mark Seliger Studio
Red Hot Chili Peppers, Los Angeles, 1992 "This was for Rolling Stone in 1992 and that was a cover that we shot over a two-day process. I had... Red Hot Chili Peppers, Los Angeles, 1992 "This was for Rolling Stone in 1992 and that was a cover that we shot over a two-day process. I had a bunch of ideas that we presented to them, one of which we painted them red using smoke that was coming out of different parts of their body. They weren't sure if they wanted to do that so we ended up doing a very simple photograph of them being bucknaked and they led me down that road. It was a fairly memorable photograph. " Photo: Courtesy of Mark Seliger Studio
Kurt Cobain, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1993 "This was shot two months before he committed suicide. And seemingly getting better and healthier. Bu... Kurt Cobain, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1993 "This was shot two months before he committed suicide. And seemingly getting better and healthier. But I think what's memorable, for me, was the experience of having him in front of my camera and really seeing the intensity and melancholy behind his eyes. It's was a great loss and it's hard to describe how a photograph makes you feel inside. There's a sadness to it because he was just a lovely person. In regards to the process, it was a 4x5 on a Polaroid negative and then I shot film on the Polaroid negative." Photo: Courtesy of Mark Seliger Studio
Will Ferrell, GQ, July 2004 "This was in an actual beauty salon in Burbank, California. We found it and I don't think we moved a thing. We ... Will Ferrell, GQ, July 2004 "This was in an actual beauty salon in Burbank, California. We found it and I don't think we moved a thing. We just put Will's hair in curlers. I think [Will and the dog] really loved each other. I think there's a real connection and a bond between them in a photograph." Photo: Courtesy of Mark Seliger Studio
Fendi Fashion Story, Vogue Italia, 2007 "My friend, an amazing fashion editor, Arianne Phillips and I started out working on covers of Roll... Fendi Fashion Story, Vogue Italia, 2007 "My friend, an amazing fashion editor, Arianne Phillips and I started out working on covers of Rolling Stone, and she's done some really memorable photographs with me. [The photographs] were largely successful because of her great sense of humor in clothing. This was a story that was built on the ethereal quality of dance with all the clothing [provided by] Fendi. That's what you're doing with fashion stories sometimes [is that] you're working with one designer and building stories on that. We looked at the clothes and we built this experience with lightness, iridescence, and romanticism." Photo: Courtesy of Mark Seliger Studio
Ben Affleck, Details, October 2012 "This is a new venture where I'm working with Details magazine, helping them to redesign their covers. I... Ben Affleck, Details, October 2012 "This is a new venture where I'm working with Details magazine, helping them to redesign their covers. It's been really fun creating a look for them. Ben's movie, Argo, [got] a lot of heat; pretty exciting for him. Ben's a great guy, he's a very serious, dedicated actor, director, writer, artist. What we've been doing with [Details] is a very natural, handsome, and honest portrait for the covers. " Photo: Courtesy of Mark Seliger Studio
Kerry Washington, Vogue Italia, July 2012 "Arianne and I developed a story for Kerry that was an homage to a young Diana Ross. We wanted to... Kerry Washington, Vogue Italia, July 2012 "Arianne and I developed a story for Kerry that was an homage to a young Diana Ross. We wanted to keep her in that world of old Hollywood glamour. [Kerry was] excellent as a model, really light and fun; not complicated or finicky [to shoot]. This was shot on location in Hollywood and that's the afternoon light pumping through the curtains. That all existed [in frame], we didn't change anything to the curtains. It's a 90-year-old man who lives [in the home] and [people] use this location all the time for shooting. [This location] has been frozen in time [through photographs] since the 1960s." Photo: Courtesy of Mark Seliger Studio
Cindy Sherman, May 9, 2009 "This is the great Cindy Sherman. Nobody gets to shoot Cindy better than Cindy, but she was super generous and su... Cindy Sherman, May 9, 2009 "This is the great Cindy Sherman. Nobody gets to shoot Cindy better than Cindy, but she was super generous and super lovely. I'm a huge fan of her history, so it was great to do a portrait of her. It was a fashion story of L'Uomo Vogue and we just played and had fun [on the shoot]. She's the ultimate subject, pretty comfortable in any way and just takes really great direction. When we were shooting that, she showed me this drawer full of breasts and we pulled out a pair and [she] took it to the best level she possibly could." Photo: Courtesy of Mark Seliger Studio
Keith Richards, New York, 2011 I shot this for British GQ; that was just one of many different setups. We did a cover setup on white [backdr... Keith Richards, New York, 2011 I shot this for British GQ; that was just one of many different setups. We did a cover setup on white [backdrop] and then we did this almost, I'm flattering myself... but a renaissance painterly idea of [Keith].  Photo: Courtesy of Mark Seliger Studio
American Idol, Vogue Espana, 2012 "This is for Spanish Vogue. [Alla Kostromicheva] is amazing; a great interpreter of the idea [for the sho... American Idol, Vogue Espana, 2012 "This is for Spanish Vogue. [Alla Kostromicheva] is amazing; a great interpreter of the idea [for the shoot]. I was born in Texas in the panhandle by the [Mexican] border.  I grew up in Houston. We found all these great quirky moments of Texas, the idea of everything from super-Uber wealthy to the folk art of the city. Houston is a real smorgasbord of ideas, like a lot of cities. There's a poetry to Texas that a lot of people are fascinated by so we called [this] a travelogue. It was a quirky study of Texas living. I stayed at my mom's house [during the shoot] which was great." Photo: Courtesy of Mark Seliger Studio
1 / 13

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  • depth of field
  • mark seliger
  • barack obama
  • photography
  • slideshow
  • kurt cobain
  • cindy sherman
  • red hot chili peppers
  • fashion photography
  • vogue italia
  • rolling stone
  • vanity fair
  • details
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