“Q&A with Mark Liddell, celebrity and fashion photographer - Los Angeles Times” plus 1

Q&A with Mark Liddell, celebrity and fashion photographer - Los Angeles Times

Posted: 11 Nov 2009 12:07 PM PST

Tell me about how you got your start with celebrity photography.

I was rung up to shoot for the Princess of Wales Memorial Fund after [Diana] the princess of Wales was killed. They asked me to shoot some of the most beautiful people in the world for a charity [including Janet Jackson, Kylie Minogue, Iman and Kate Moss]. Janet Jackson was the first person I shot who was famous.

I then did a shoot for Nicole Kidman for the launch of Australia's Harpers Bazaar. She suggested I move to L.A. and she was supportive. She gave me all the covers of the magazines [i.e., every time she was on the cover, she asked for him] and she introduced me to all the celebrities.

Who is your favorite celebrity to photograph?

(Laughs, then answers diplomatically) My favorite people to photograph are always when we're doing a shoot for a cause. When a picture has a meaning is when I'm the happiest.

Proceeds of "Exposed" go to the Trevor Project, a teen suicide prevention group, and to the Jenesse Center, which Liddell was introduced to by Halle Berry after he learned that she was donating her fee from a Vogue cover they worked on together to the domestic violence outreach group.

Who is someone you've always wanted to shoot but couldn't get to?

I am fascinated by powerful women. I feel both Madonna and Hillary Clinton are exceedingly beautiful in their own rights.

I had the chance to shoot Madonna a few years ago, but I had to have back surgery at the last minute. I don't think she's ever forgiven me because I sit by the phone every day waiting and hope. I guess the lesson in that is: Don't say no to Madonna. It was a tough one -- should I walk again or should I say no to Madonna?

I feel politicians are never photographed well. The pictures are boring and it always looks like bad wallpaper in the hotel. I love iconic imagery and I'd love to talk to Hillary and find out what her inspiration is and get that to come through -- but not in a hotel room or in a hallway in the White House.

How important is clothing to the shoot?

It's one of the most important factors and the one component I insist on is the stylist for the shoot. You can alter hair and makeup in post-production. I grew up as a fashion photographer shooting for Versace. I keep in touch with what's going on in the shows and fashion's so relevant to the image.

Are there certain designers you prefer?

It really depends. I look at the body shape, who the person is, what age they are. ... I had this incredible shoot for Annie Lennox and we had all the designers in the world. Annie looked at it and said, "I've done all this," and pulled a white HIV T-shirt out of her bag. It would have been wonderful to put her in Dior or YSL, but the white HIV T-shirt said it all.

I've also had very spoiled English actresses. Every designer in the world sent clothes for them. They arrive and throw a hissy fit and ask the stylist to go out and get Gap. [Note to readers: No, they're not in the book and no, Liddell wouldn't divulge their names].

What are your favorite shoots?

My favorite shoots are often very personal shoots. When Britney Spears, whom I've had the honor of shooting for the past 10 years, asked me to do her pregnancy pictures and her baby pictures and her engagement pictures ... it really is an honor as a photographer to be brought in and trusted with really special memories of a person's life.

What about your favorite place to shoot?

My favorite place has to be in a studio because we have to escape the paparazzi. They are a constant pain in my life. It takes away my freedom to shoot outside. [In recent years,] it's really gotten worse. They hire helicopters that destroy my set. I've had the paparazzi kick in my car door, threaten my manager, push me when I try to protect Britney. ... It's really unbelievable and I'm just a photographer. As you can tell I don't like them very much ...

What's the most complicated shoot you've done?

Trying to shoot Paris Hilton naked in sprayed gold in the desert for Prosecco ... . We had the logistics of the paparazzi. If I take Paris in the desert, the pap will follow so I took my manager with me and had him strip down to his underwear in the position Paris would be in. Then I got Paris in the studio and finished it in post-production. I love Paris, she's up for anything. I love when a subject is so trusting.

How do you get the person to open up to you? What does it take to get subjects to cross the line and see you more as a friend?

Treat them as normal people. Take away the fame and the celebrity and be as real as possible. I respect all human beings. It doesn't matter who anyone is. I treat everyone on the same level.

[Because I'm British,] I think I get away with hell. I had Meg Ryan in front of me and I needed to break the ice. I showed her a centerfold picture and said "I know exactly how you want to look today." She looked at me, her mouth dropped and then she burst out laughing. In the book, she calls me silly.

How is celebrity photography for magazines and publications different than fashion photography?

There is a huge difference. ["Exposed"] isn't just a book of pictures and of words. We're trying to make people aware of all the differences there are. A model knows how to pose, she knows how to wear an outfit ... you can't expect the celebrity to be a model. With a celebrity, you have to respect who they are. Everyone is so different.

As the fashion photographer, you're used to ruling the roost and telling everyone what you want and what your concept is. With celebrities, you have to understand who they are and why they're there. You're enhancing their image.

[But] I believe if you don't have a picture taken in five minutes, it's a wasted shot -- whether it's a fashion photograph or a celebrity. You lose who you're shooting. And they're bored as well.

Have advances in photography and technology made things easier?

The developments in the technical sides have been incredible. In the old days, you did your photograph and that's your piece of art. Nowadays, the photograph is only 50% of your picture.

[But] for some people, [technology] is almost an excuse. They can solve problems too easily in post[-production]. I think it's taken the skill out of it for a lot of photographers. Those of us who are trained and know our lighting, we can get away with it. A lot of the photographers out there can get their work corrected in post.

I also don't like in fashion photography, the trend in Europe to make everyone ugly. I don't think we need to see hairy armpits in everyone. I want to make people look beautiful. I want a photograph to be an inspiration and I want it to be a beautiful piece of art.

The Image section just did a cover story on the art of modern fashion photography, and noting the passing of some of the greats, such as Irving Penn. How has Penn's death changed your industry?

We've lost a great photographer. The sad thing now in the industry is that everything seems to move so fast, it seems like we don't respect the masters of the craft. We need to remember the masters and the people who made it great.

[With "Exposed,"] I have probably done the exact opposite from what someone like Irving Penn did. His photographs and books are so stunning and coffee table icons. I've gone the other way and tried to make it accessible to the masses. I've created incredible imagery and give it a modern-day twist and made it affordable. It's a stepping stone for people. We're also trying to raise money for the causes. We've done it so it's totally affordable and so it'll have appeal to the masses.

Now that you've conquered celebrity photography, what's next on the horizon?

We've just done our first short film -- we've put the book to life with a short film called "Exposed." I really believe the photography is becoming more moving and less still. It's getting the message out there and giving the picture a voice.

-- Whitney Friedlander

From top: The "Exposed: 10 Years in Hollywood" cover, a portrait of Liddell and photos of his celebrity subjects. Credit: Mark Liddell

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WhitePages Offers Comprehensive Source for Parents to Explore Unique Baby ... - PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung)

Posted: 29 Oct 2009 05:13 AM PDT

2009-10-29 13:12:07 -

SEATTLE, WA -- (Marketwire) -- 10/29/09 -- With a growing trend to give babies uncommon names, today WhitePages announced the launch of its WhitePages Names product, which will make it easier for parents-to-be to identify unique names for their babies based on popularity rankings across the United States. For years, celebrity couples like David and Victoria Beckham and Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck have chosen to give their children unique names. The new WhitePages product will not only help new parents identify whether or not their desired name is as unique as " Brooklyn :

" or " Seraphina :

", but will help them to explore the meaning and history behind their name choice.

According to new research out of San Diego State University : , the desire to give a child a unique baby name transcends the celebrity trend. In analyzing the names of some 325 million children born in 1880 or later, researchers from San Diego State University and the University of Georgia found just nine per cent of boys born in 2007 were given a "top 10" name, compared with 32 per cent in 1955; for girls, only eight per cent had a top 10 name in 2007, versus 22 per cent in 1955.

"There's so much to consider when looking for the right name for your child including popularity, origin, history and meaning," said Keela Robison, VP of Product at WhitePages. "We launched WhitePages Names because we wanted to pair our internal data with the highest quality name etymology research to help parents-to-be find the perfect name for their upcoming arrival."

With the introduction of WhitePages Names : , WhitePages now offers name popularity ranking for all names, common and uncommon, based on a database of over 200 million US adults.
WhitePages Names provides a unique and very detailed analysis of name meanings and is the only site that offers the popularity ranking for first and last name combinations. Since most name sites only reference popularity based on the Social Security Top 1000 names data, WhitePages Names is the place to go for parents seeking information on unusual names.

Based on WhitePages' Names popularity rankings, below are 10 examples of some unique girl names and their meanings.

-- Anouk : : A pet form of Anne, which is an English form of the Hebrew girl's name Hanna 'He (God) has favoured me (i.e. with a child)'. There are only 102 people in the US with the first name Anouk.

-- Amabel : : From Latin amabilis 'lovable' via Old French. Although now very rare in the English-speaking world, this name lies behind the much commoner name Annabel and also Mabel. There are only 164 people in the US with the first name Amabel.

-- Calico : : From the name of the cotton fabric, originally so called because it was imported from the Indian port of Calicut (now Kozhikode) in Kerala. There are only 31 people in the US with the first name Calico.

-- Carys : : Modern Welsh coinage, from câr 'love' + the ending -ys, derived by analogy with names such as Gladys. There are only 43 people in the US with the first name Carys.

-- Lilac : : From the vocabulary word denoting the shrub with large sprays of heavily scented purple, pink, or white flowers. There are only 75 people in the US with the first name Lilac.

-- Mimosa : : Modern coinage, from the word denoting the yellow flowering plant, which was named in the 17th century, probably as a derivative of Latin mîmus 'mime, mimic'.
The idea is that it mimics an animal in its sensitivity to touch. There are only 56 people in the US with the first name Mimosa.

-- Nigella : :
Latinate feminine form of Nigel. Adoption as a given name may also have been encouraged by the fact that this is an alternative name (from its black seed) for the flower known as 'love-in-a-mist'. There are only 11 people in the US with the first name Nigella.

-- Saffron : : From the name of the yellow food colouring and flavouring, derived from the stamens of a species of crocus. As a given name it is most often given to babies born with strikingly golden hair. There are only 80 people in the US with the first name Saffron.

-- Sidony : : From Latin Sidonia, feminine of Sidonius, in origin an ethnic name meaning 'man from Sidon' (the city in Phoenicia). This came to be associated with the Greek word sindon 'winding sheet'. There are only four people in the US with the first name Sidony.

-- Zillah : : Biblical name (from a Hebrew word meaning 'shade'), borne by one of the two wives of Lamech (Genesis 4:19). There are only 173 people in the US with the first name Zillah.

Based on WhitePages' Names popularity rankings, below are 10 examples of some unique boys names and their meanings.

-- Aldous : :
Uncertain origin, but probably a medieval short form of any of various Norman names, such as Aldebrand, Aldemund, and Alderan, containing the Germanic word ald 'old'. There are only 61 people in the US with the first name Aldous.

-- Baptist : :
English form of Church Latin baptista, Greek baptistçs (a derivative of baptein 'to dip'), the epithet of the most popular of the numerous saints called John. There are only 35 people in the US with the first name Baptist.

-- Huxley : :
Transferred use of the surname, in origin a local name from a place in Cheshire which is apparently so called from the genitive case of the Old English personal name Hucc + Old English lçah 'wood, clearing'. There are only 42 people in the US with the first name Huxley.

-- Keiller : :
Chiefly Canadian: transferred use of the Scottish surname Keiller, from a village of this name in Perthshire. There are only 6 people in the US with the first name Keiller.

-- Kilroy : :
Transferred use of the surname, which is in origin a variant of Gilroy which is of Gaelic origin, from an giolla ruadh 'the red-haired lad'. There are 40 people in the US with the first name Kilroy.

-- Maximus : : Latin cognomen meaning 'greatest'. There are 115 people in the US with the first name Maximus.

-- Melek : : From a vocabulary element meaning 'king' in Hebrew. It originated in part as a nickname, in part as a short form of various compound names containing this element, for example Elimelek 'God is king'. There are 127 people in the US with the first name Melek.

-- Neo : : Modern coinage, apparently from the prefix derived from Greek neos 'new'. In some instances, however, the name may be African in origin, from a Tswana word meaning 'gift'. There are 188 people in the US with the first name Neo.

-- Pacey : :
Transferred use of the surname, in origin a Norman baronial name from any of the places in northern France called Passy. There are 22 people in the US with the first name Pacey.

-- Rafferty : :
Transferred use of the Irish surname. The Gaelic form of this is Ó Rabhartaigh or Ó Robhartaigh, meaning 'descendant of Robhartach'. There are 74 people in the US with the first name Rafferty.

People interested in using WhitePages Names' free etymology capabilities to look up the history and meaning of their own name can visit names.whitepages.com/ : . A name search also offers similar names and nicknames, the most common last names associated with that name, and a look at the distribution of that name across individual states and throughout the entire US. In addition, a name search provides search history for each name which includes total number of searches on the name and a breakdown of daily search numbers. With the new WhitePages Name Badge, anyone can share the popularity and meaning of their name on their website or blog.

About WhitePages

As the largest and most trusted online directory, WhitePages offers a suite of free mobile and Internet services that makes it easy for people to find and immediately connect with anyone in the U.S. Only WhitePages offers one-click access to more than 200 million adults and powers more than 2 billion searches on over 1,300 partner sites including Verizon, AOL, United States Postal Service, and MSN. For more information, please visit www.whitepages.com : or check out the WhitePages blog at blog.whitepages.com.

WhitePages and their respective logos are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of WhitePages. Other products and company names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective owners.
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