Rocky Schenck has specialized in celebrity photography for decades, shooting for Vogue, Rolling Stone, Time, Newsweek, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, etc. and countless websites. Working with actors, musicians, artists, and eccentrics, his celebrity portraits and photography have appeared on hundreds of albums and single covers for all the major record labels, in addition to appearing in multiple books and art exhibitions.
Working with artists ranging from Adele, Frances Bean Cobain and Nicole Kidman to Nick Cave, Tom Cruise, and Robert Plant, Schenck’s eclectic collection of celebrity portraits and assignments have been far ranging and encompassing all factions of the creative industry, working with everyone from world famous celebrities to an aspiring and diverse collection of wannabees and nobodies.
Schenck’s technique when photographing celebrity portraits is primarily “old school”, choosing to utilize tungsten “hot lights” or natural light as opposed to strobe lighting. Many of his portraits are inspired by the celebrity portrait photography of the Hollywood masters from yesteryear… Lazlo Willinger, Clarence Sinclair Bull, Cecil Beaton, George Hurrell, and leaning toward artifice, illusion, and a stylized reality complementary to his subjects. Schenck has also been majorly influenced by the inspired cinematography of brilliant cameramen and filmmakers from multiple eras, having learned photography while shooting “stills” on his own experimental movie sets.
Schenck enjoys shooting in exotic locations around the world and within architecturally unusual environments, in addition to creating manufactured worlds within his studio in Hollywood.
A special collection of Schenck’s celebrity photography will be appearing in Schenck’s upcoming book entitled “Portraits, Etc.”, which will not only feature his celebrity portraits and photography but also his fine art nudes, fashion photography, experimental work, and private portrait commissions.
