Leibovitz and Erizku

One of Leibovitz most famed portraits was the one of Demi Moore during her pregnancy. This was due to the nude nature which was groundbreaking during its time. Some people supported the beauty of her pregnant body and others opposed it and considered it to be pornographic. In my opinion, the photo is absolutely stunning! Leibovitz uses a classical setup in which he has a plain black background. Using a broad light setup, she places the main light above her left shoulder and shines it down on her face. She then places a very light fill light on the other side and probably a very dim backlight to separate her from the background. This lighting creates a beautiful contrast with Demi’s curves and most importantly her baby bump. Moore looks like she is glowing and she represents the raw natural beauty of pregnancy.

Erizku took a completely different approach with his also popularized pregnancy shoot of Beyonce. Erizku stages his shoot with a backdrop of flowers and a bed of earthy greens. The shoot is very colorful and playful. He also places a veil over her head which to me makes a representation of the Virgin Mary, which I must say I find a little odd. In order to highlight the colorful backdrop, Erizku uses Rembrandt lighting. It seems like the lighting is head on and the fill-in lights are strong enough to remove any shadows. There may also be a background light lighting up the blue sky. Beyonce’s pregnancy portrait depicts the more cheerful whimsical of giving life.

One thought on “Leibovitz and Erizku

  1. rmichals

    You describe the lighting in the Liebovitz photo clearly. it is a lovely photo.

    I too am confused by the mix of Virgin Mary and earth mother imagery in the Erizku photo.

    Reply

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