gregheisler

As much information as we’re able to pull in through the Internet, there is one thing that can never be obtained through words or pictures on a screen: experience. Through time and experience, information turns to knowledge, and we begin to wrap our heads around the complicated concepts that baffled us in the beginning.

One phenomenal example of a man who has accrued more experience than most is renowned portrait photographer Gregory Heisler, and in the interview above with Maine Media Workshops + College, he shares valuable insight and advice for photographers both young and old.

Update on 12/16/21: This video has been removed by its creator.

Two days ago was the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings, and in true Boston spirit, the city came out in force to show that this tragedy had not stolen, but rather strengthened its spirit.

Earlier this week, when stumbled across this two-hour presentation by iconic portrait photographer Greg Heisler, it took all the will power we had not to share it with you right away. In our world, being the "first" to report on a story is often very important, and it's an impulse we often have to resist because we're intent on getting the story right.

In this case, however, it had nothing to do with getting the story right and everything to do with sharing it at a time when we felt the majority of our readers would have enough time to watch the video from start to finish. Two hours is a long time to listen to one photographer speak, but in the case of Gregory Heisler, we think you'll find it's not nearly long enough.

A few days ago, we stumbled on a new set of short interviews with portrait photography master Gregory Heisler that cover everything from lighting, to relating with your subjects, to getting creative, to (and we know you're all interested in this one) getting hired.

Pursuing a career doing something you love can be a terrifying thing, and so we often look to the people who have "made it" in our field as sources of inspiration. We see the work of a Heisler, Hobby or Arias, and it helps us to push through when times get tough, as they inevitably do in any pursuit.

And if, once in a while, we get the chance to hear these successful people to talk about how exactly they made it, and what it takes to be a successful photographer (or anything really), then we've gotten really lucky. In the video above we get exactly that, from eight of the world's best known and most successful photographers.

Greg Heisler is one of the great photographers of our time, and one of his strengths is meticulously planning his shots. Whether his subject is an NBA player or an olympian, Heisler's photos always capture the essence of that person, and his approach makes his BTS videos particularly educational and interesting to share.

In this Master Series behind the scenes, we watch as Heisler explains his setup for Time Magazine's 2005 "Persons of the Year" cover featuring Bill Gates, Bono and Melinda Gates.

One of the most entertaining events that photographers get to enjoy each year is the annual Gulf Photo Plus shootout, in which 3 photographers each get 20 minutes to take a photo from concept to completion. In 2012, the shootout pinned David Hobby, Martin Prihoda, and Greg Heisler against each other. This year, John Keatley, Lindsay Adler and Zack Arias are the victims participants, and one of last year's contestants is actually the subject.

"There's the kind of lighting you do because you want it to look like ambient light. And there's the kind of lighting you do just because you think it looks cool. This was [the latter]." That's how Greg Heisler describes this photograph he took of now-retired NBA star Alonzo Mourning for ESPN magazine.

Yesterday, we shared an interview with a young Annie Leibovitz, in which she discussed some of her most iconic photos. For today's blast from the past, we have this short interview with Greg Heisler, in which a very young version of the Heisler we know and love tells the story behind his photographs of the American Ballet Theatre.

In 2002, photographer Greg Heisler was asked to photograph former PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. Now, eleven years later, we get to hear the story behind that photo.

At the time, Heisler was already in Gaza city photographing former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. And even though the photo of Arafat was a very simple shot taken using a wooden four-by-five camera, a black velvet backdrop and a simple soft box, it's still fascinating to hear exactly what went into getting it.

Jay Maisel is a photographic legend who is known primarily for two things: his amazing photography, including the shot on the cover of Miles Davis' Kind of Blue; and the lower Manhattan mansion he bought in 1966 for only $102K (a purchase that has been called "the greatest real estate coup of all time").

This short documentary tells you a little bit about both. But mostly, it contains phenomenal photography, followed by phenomenal insight, followed by more phenomenal photography. It's hard not to find everything Maisel says inspiring. (Warning: the video does contain a few curse words).

A couple of days ago, we featured a BTS video showing how portrait photographer Greg Heisler got a great Time magazine cover shot of Michael Phelps before the 2004 Olympics using some creative techniques and a lot of preparation.

In this video, part of the same Master Series, Heisler discusses photographic techniques and how they can actually mask your vision if you rely too heavily on them.

Leading up to the 2004 Olympics, before Michael Phelps was quite as big a deal as he turned out to be, photographer Greg Heisler had the opportunity to shoot him for the cover of Time magazine. He initially planned to photograph Phelps at the Stanford pool where he was training, only to find out that it was too close to the Olympics and that wasn't an option.

Still, Heisler refused to let go of his vision of capturing Phelps awash in that blue "pool glow." Enter some serious ingenuity, a lot of testing, a few home-made strip lights, some blue gels, Strobist yelling the F-word in a supermarket line out of jealousy, and a behind the scenes video to explain it all.

Portrait photographer Gregory Heisler has done quite a few portraits for Time Magazine covers, including a few for their Person of the Year issues. This is an informative video where he steps through how he went about photographing Rudy Giuliani at the top of Rockefeller Center with the Empire State Building in the background. If you're interested at all in portraiture and/or lighting, you'll find this video quite educational.