5.30.2012

LAWRENCE SCHILLER: Talks Marilyn Monroe at Steven Kasher Gallery

Larry Schiller and Steven Kasher, May 2012
Photo © Elizabeth Paul Avedon

Lawrence Schiller and Marilyn Monroe on the set of her unfinished last film "Something's Got to Give, 1962."©Lawrence Schiller/Courtesy TASCHEN... La Lettre de la Photographie 5.30.2012


Schiller on Meeting Marilyn Monroe for the first time: "Here I am a 23-year-old kid out of college becoming a photojournalist and I was scared shitless...I had seen her on the cover of Time Magazine when I was in college. I had already photographed some celebrities for Life Magazine, but I ‘d never photographed somebody who had been photographed by every photographer in the world. By the time I was introduced to her in 1960, she had been photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt, Milton Greene, Philippe Halsman, Richard Avedon, you just name it..."


“Oh you’ll never get a good picture from that angle. Go over there where the light will be better and I’ll show you what a good picture is.” Then she turns and that’s that...

On his iconic photograph of Marilyn on the cover of his new book, Marilyn & Me: "I think there are probably some unedited Marilyn somewhere. In the new book, there are at least thirty images that came from the shooting for Look Magazine. I’m not exaggerating, until last year I had never looked at that shooting since the day the film was sent into Look Magazine and Marilyn approved the contact sheets...Now I look at it and I come up with this image, the first picture I ever shot of her. This picture was never published; it’s on the cover of the Talese book. It comes from a contact sheet she killed all except the one frame. She said to me as I’m shooting, “Oh you’ll never get a good picture from that angle. Go over there where the light will be better and I’ll show you what a good picture is." Then she turns and that’s that..." –La Lettre de la Photographie link to Interview


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fantastic interview-the kind of stuff that readers what to know about what happened behind the camera, before the photo hit the media. Fascinating era, and I think Mr. Schiller still has much more in store..

the plant gardener said...

Great interview..thanks!

Susan May Tell said...

ASMP-NY
ATTENTION PHOTOGRAPHERS
RE: COPYRIGHT

To All photographers: In this great, beautifully-written interview Schiller states 3 times that "I own the copyright" - and he also discusses the importance of photography being a business. Can't argue with success!!

The Interview: http://bit.ly/MXCK0B

Peter Liepke said...

It is indeed a business, and yet oddly enough it's rarely treated like one by many of the very people who practice it.

Samuele Silva said...

Fantastic interview - the kind of stuff that readers what to know about what happened behind the camera, before the photo hit the media. Fascinating era, and I think Mr. Schiller still has much more ...

Margaret McCarthy said...

Elizabeth, I just had to congratulate you on the Lawrence Schiller interview - chock full of amazing stories and revelations. Your questions were wonderful and the resulting interview illuminates an era of photographic history for us.
Thank you!
Margaret McCarthy
www.margaretmccarthy.com

PJ said...

I liked the interview very much, Liz. I grew up with Life and Look so I'm certain I would know Schiller's work if I saw it. I think I remember his piece on Marilyn as well, if it's the one I'm thinking of, and he was very wet behind the ears indeed. I'll definitely be looking at more of his work but I still stand by my previous statement about MM.

Z said...

Great interview!!
I still can't believe photographers day rate was $100-:)

My portfolio is on on La Lettre today.
Love that web site!
http://lalettredelaphotographie.com/entries/7115/zeren-badar-look-mummy