Design, Photography, & Fashion
Looking Back at Your Work
Lesson time 7:23 min
Annie discusses the importance of self-reflection and explains why it's so important for every photographer to look back at their work.*
The Art Of The Photo
Annie Leibovitz was the first woman to be named chief photographer at Rolling Stone and the last person to take a portrait of John Lennon. In her first online photography class, Annie shows us that what makes a picture stunning isn’t the gear or technology—it’s the story. Annie teaches you her philosophy: how to develop concepts, work with subjects, shoot with natural light, and bring images to life in post-production. See the world through her eyes.
Featured Masterclass Instructor
Annie Leibovitz
Annie brings you into her studio and onto her shoots to teach you everything she knows about portraiture and telling stories through images.
Explore the ClassReviews
It was interesting to hear her anecdotes and creative process.
Absolutely loved this class. Gaining insight to Annie's thought process is invaluable. Also a fellow AI alum :)
This photography class was something different. It was like a philosophy class about how to think visually. This is not a technical class, so I think this is the value it has.
An exclusive look at her work that teaches you to look at your work in a new way. This class shows the many factors photographers need to consider to make their work as powerful as it is.
Comments
I get that looking back at your work is important. That could be covered in two minutes
This lesson won't play on my computer. Anyone else having the same problem? Safari browser on Mac. Just watched a couple of other lessons on different courses with no problem. Also tried rebooting.
This lecture was not helpful. She didn't say anything about how to edit work or what to look for when you are looking back on it.
I think looking back on your work is very important, cuz you can see how far you have come.
Retrospectivity provided me with an understanding of where I was on my photographic and artistic journey and continues to inform me of that
This is a photo of my other son. I took this 2 years ago. I always help take photos of the swim team.
Looking back on your work is so very important. Its a way of staying focused and seeing how you get better at your craft as a photographer. I go back to my early work and I can remember the certain struggles of deciding an f/stop a certain angle of light or the composition of the final image. Annie is right about having good days and bad days and days where you don't even think you are connected with the shot. It all helps to keep ones self ground in a sea of pictures. I have taken editing classes and have brought in my early work to do the assignments on. Its very rewarding to find images you thought weren't any good were actually pretty darn good.
I agree with comments that Annie largely talks about her work. The point of the lesson, to review your work, seems obvious. Who doesn't do that when you editing images for a client or getting ready for an exhibition or book. It would have helped to hear her discuss how she evaluates her work. Few of us have the resources she does to have a crew that does all of her editing, printing, staging, lighting. What I did find useful and inspiring was what she said in the last minute of the lesson about working through the challenges and the importance of our work.
I'm getting tired of listening to Annie just tell her life story. I'd like to learn how to take quality photos. Isn't that what this course is???
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I address this comment to others in the group and also to Annie Leibovitz and hope she has a chance to read this: I was deeply moved by this lesson. Annie exposes herself here--and that is the key, for me anyway, to the lesson. We think of photography--or writing that is my primary art--as perhaps exposing others, but in reality the best art always exposes the self. That's what going "close to home" means to me. I found this to be one of the best opening lessons in the Master Class cadre.