Herb Ritts

Herb Ritts

Herbert Ritts (August 13, 1952 in Los Angeles, California – December 26, 2002 in Los Angeles) was an American fashion photographer who concentrated on black-and-white photography and portraits in the style of classical Greek sculpture. Consequently some of his more famous pieces are of male and female nudes in what can be called glamour photography.

Biography

Celebrity/Fashion Photographer. Born in to a Jewish family in Los Angeles, California, Ritts began his career working in the family furniture business. After awhile he moved to the East Coast and attended Bard College in New York, where he majored in economics and art history. Later he became interested in photography, when by chance he met a young man in a gas station and decided to photograph him. The young man would later become actor, Richard Gere. The picture gained Ritts some coverage and he began to be more serious about photography. He later photographed notables such as, Christopher Reeve, Dalai Lama, Elizabeth Taylor, Ronald Reagan, Steven Hawking, Edward Norton, Madonna, Dizzy Gillespie, Annette Benning, Cindy Crawford, and many others. He worked for the magazines, Interview, GQ, Harper's Bazaar, Rolling Stone, Vogue, Vanity Fair and Elle. He published many books on photography for leading fashion designers including, Giorgio Armani, Revlon, Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Gianni Versace and Calvin Klein. From 1996 to 1997 some of his work was displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, attracting more then 253,000 people to the exibit. In 1991 he won two MTV Video Awards for his work on music videos by Janet Jackson and Chris Isaak. Ritts also worked on other projects including directing and acting, Mariah #1's (1999), Janet Jackson: Design Of A Decade 1986-1996 (1996), Intimate Portrait: Cindy Crawford (1998) and Murder in the First (1995). Ritts was considered to be a leading celebrity photographer of the 1980s and 1990s. He died in 2002 as a result of AIDS.

Commercial

Herb Ritts Commercial: chronology

1988: Parco "Quarttro" with Tatjana Patitz

1990: Rochas "Femme" "Globe"

1990: Lancôme "Rouge Absolut" with Isabella Rossellini

1991: Calvin Klein Escape "Water Ski" "Horse" "Pool" "Sailboat" with Shana Zadrick

1991: NEC with Ryuichi Sakamoto

1992: Levi's Loose Fit Jeans "Wind" "Earth" "Water" "Movement" "Light" "Shorts" "Wave" "Parachute" "Fire" "Premiere" "Sunny Beach" "Collage" "Co-op Land" "Co-op All Star"

1992: Levi's Loose Fit Jeans "Flag" "Stone Wheel" "Red Stripes" "Poles" "Pyramids" "Climbers" "Fort Window" "Big Ball" "Nadege’s Shorts" "Winter Shorts" "Loose Fit Ninety"

1992: Levi's Dockers "Grey" "Green" "Tan" "Brown" "Blue" "Black" "Green Shorts" "Tan Shorts" "Blue Shorts"

1992: Guess Perfume "Café - Women" "Cafe - Men’s" with Claudia Schiffer

1992: Calvin Klein "Marky Mark" with Mark Wahlberg and Kate Moss

1992: Revlon "Charlie" with Cindy Crawford and Little Richard

1993: Brut "Aquatonic A" with Helena Christensen

1993: Guy Laroche "Horizon" with Beri Smither

1993: Paul Mitchell "Seasons" "Earth" with Eloise DeJoria

1993: Vittel Water "Living Sculpture" with Beri Smither

1993: Acura "NSX - Handmade" "Comfort" "Quality" "Premium"

1994: Revlon Flex "Lighten Up" with Claudia Schiffer

1994: Revlon "Kiss Proof" with Cindy Crawford

1994: Revlon "Defy It" with Melanie Griffith

1994: Donna Karan "DKNY Men" with Peter Fortier

1994: Chanel "Allure" with Karen, Leticia, Linda, Irene, Jamie, Basia, Nadege, Emma

1994: Paul Mitchell "Desert" with Eloise DeJoria

1994: Cartier "Pasha" with Lara Harris, Tatjana Patitz.

1995: Häagen-Dazs "Shall We" with Tatjana Patitz

1995: Elizabeth Arden "Black Pearls" with Elizabeth Taylor

1995: CoverGirl "True Advance" with Helena Christensen

1996: Revlon "Won’t Fade Away" with Cindy Crawford

1996: Victoria's Secret with Helena Christensen, Dennis Rodman, Vendela, Katey Segal, Salt-n-Pepa, Naomi Campbell

1997: Victoria's Secret with Helena Christensen

1997: Revlon Ultima "That’s The Ultimate" with Kim Delaney

1997: Victoria's Secret "Angels" with Tyra Banks, Stephanie Seymour, Karen Mulder, Helena Christensen, Daniela Pestova, Tom Jones

1998: Revlon "Liquid Sexy" with Shania Twain

1998: Chanel "Allure" Kiara, Chandra North, Mackie, Beri Smither, Tara Westwood, Meilan, Elisabet Davidsdottir, Daniela Pestova, Shirley Mallman

1998: Elizabeth Arden "White Pearls" with Burt Reynolds

1998: Revlon Ultima II "Beauty is as Beauty Does" "Wisdom" with Cybill Shepherd

1998: Revlon "Wake-Up" with Halle Berry

1999: Maybelline "Triple Volume" with Christy Turlington

1999: Eau De Rochas "Man and Woman" Manon von Gerkan

1999: Vidal Sassoon "Vidal" "Follower vs. Leader" "Standard Vs. State of the Arts" "Art vs. Science" with Vidal Sassoon

1999: Revlon "Looks That Last" with Shania Twain, Cindy Crawford

1999: Maybelline "Mascara Love" with Sarah Michelle Gellar

2000: Elizabeth Arden "White Diamonds" with Elizabeth Taylor

2001: Estée Lauder "Advance Night Repair" with Carolyn Murphy

2001: Elizabeth Taylor "United for America" Public Service Announcement

2001: Revlon "Choices" with Halle Berry

2001: Maybelline "Wet Shine Nails" with Sarah Michelle Gellar

2002: Victoria's Secret "New Angels" with Gisele Bundchen, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio

2002: Victoria's Secret "Sexy Support" with Tyra Banks

2002: Estée Lauder "Beautiful" "Pleasures" "Intense" with Carolyn Murphy

2002: Elizabeth Arden/House Of Taylor "Cinema" with Elizabeth Taylor

Music Videos

Herb Ritts Music Videos: chronology

1989: Madonna - "Cherish"

1990: Janet Jackson - "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" with Antonio Sabato Jr. and Djimon Hounsou

1991: Chris Isaak - "Wicked Game" (version 2) with Helena Christensen

1992: Michael Jackson - "In The Closet" with Naomi Campbell

1994: Jon Bon Jovi - "Please Come Home For Christmas" with Cindy Crawford

1996: Toni Braxton - "Let It Flow"

1998: Mariah Carey - "My All"

1999: Chris Isaak - "Baby Did A Bad, Bad Thing" with Laetitia Casta

2000: Tracy Chapman - "Telling Stories"

2001: Britney Spears - "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know"

2001: Jennifer Lopez - "Ain't It Funny"

2001: 'N Sync - "Gone"

2002: Shakira - "Underneath Your Clothes"

Actor filmatography

Herb Ritts Actor fimatography: chronology

1993: Intimate Portrait, episode: Cindy Crawford, as himself

1995: Murder In The First, as Mike Kelly

1997: Behind The Music, episode 6: Imagemakers, as himself

2001: Diary, episode 8: Diary Of Britney Spears, as himself

2001: The Ellen Show, episode 4: Vanity Hair, as the photographer

2002: Making The Video, episode 86: Underneath Your Clothes, as himself

Books

Herb Ritts books: chronology

Pictures, Twin Palms Publishers, 1988

Men/Women, Twin Palms Publishers, 1989

Duo, Twin Palms Publishers, 1991

Notorious, Little, Brown and Company/Bulfinch Press, 1992

Africa, Little, Brown and Company/Bulfinch Press, 1994

Work, Little, Brown and Company/Bulfinch Press, 1996

Herb Ritts, Fondation Cartier Pour L'art Contemporain, 1999

Source: Wikipedia

Vogue covers taken by him

Forever indebted to Herb for this:

Awww - Wicked Game... *SIGH*

....continued

Forever indebted to Herb for this:

Awww - Wicked Game... *SIGH*

Thanks Baron

wow! amazing covers. Can you id the 3rd and 4th models?

thnx !

You're welcome Korri

wow! amazing covers. Can you id the 3rd and 4th models?

thnx !

Who?

Who?

In the first cover girl is Linda Speirings & in the second cover girls is a unknown model.

thanks, I'll try to find out who the other girl is

US GQ January 1989

"That Fabulous Face"

Model: Christy Turlington

Photographed by Herb Ritts

djuna.cine21.com/christy

Madonna

Photographed by Herb Ritts

Herb Ritts - Exhibition Poster

Model: Helena Christensen

Photographed by Herb Ritts

Rolling Stone 1989

Models: Stephanie Seymour, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz & Naomi Campbell

Photographed by Herb Ritts

Some videos directed by him.....

Shakira - "Underneath Your Clothes"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbASRMMbWTc

NSYNC - "Gone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvunyWYr_tc

Janet Jackson - "Love Will Never Do (Without You)"

Chris Isaak - "Widget Game"

I read yesterday that he directed "Wicked Game" (btw, if he did its version number 2, then how the version number 1 looked like?? )

And I didn't know he made so many music videos! It's great he didn't have an impact on fashion, but also on music scene (somehow )

I really like "Ain't it funny" (Y)

US GQ January 1989

"That Fabulous Face"

Model: Christy Turlington

Photographed by Herb Ritts

beautiful

she has a great body

US Vogue September 2002

"Sparking Star"

Star: Kate Hudson

Photographed by Herb Ritts

http://voguesgirl.blogspot.com/

US Vogue July 2001

"Not The Girl Next - Door"

Star: Catherine Zeta-Jones

Photographed by Herb Ritts

http://voguesgirl.blogspot.com/