As a young person, and I know itโs hard to believe that I was shy, but you could take your camera, and it would take you to places: it was like having a friend, like having someone to go out with and look at the world. I would do things with a camera I wouldnโt do normally if I was just by myself.
Annie LeibovitzI was scared to do anything in the studio because it felt so claustrophobic. I wanted to be somewhere where things could happen and the subject wasn't just looking back at you.
Annie LeibovitzThere's an idea that it's hard to be a woman artist. People assume that women have fewer opportunities, less power. But it's not any harder to be a woman artist than to be a male artist. We all take what we are given and use the parts of ourselves that feed the work. We make our way. Photographers, men and women, are particularly lucky. Photography lets you find yourself. It is a passport to people and places and to possibilities.
Annie LeibovitzI think self-portraits are very difficult. Iโve always seen mine as straightforward, very stripped down, hair pulled back. No shirt. Whatever light happened to be available. Iโd want it to be very graphic โ about darkness and light. No one else should be there, but Iโm scared to do it by myself. Iโve been thinking about it for a long time. The whole idea of a self-portrait is strange. Iโm so strongly linked to how I see through the camera that to get to the other side of it would be difficult. It would be as if I were taking a photograph in the dark.
Annie Leibovitz