Annie Leibovitz (b. 1949) is an American photographer most known for her unique, intmate portraits of celebrities. Leibovitz's extensive archive is integral to the fabric of American culture, and she has produced some of the most iconic images of our current era. She was the first woman to have a feature exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C, and her work has been exhibition at musuems and galleries around the world. Leibovitz currently lives and works in New York City.

In early November of 2024, through a collaboration with Hauser & Wirth Gallery, Annie Leibovitz led a 3 part workshop for Salt students at her exhibition at Hauser & Wirth, "Stream of Consciousness," an amalgamation of portraiture, still lifes, and landscape photographs that showcase her craft. In addition to creating a workshop assignment for our students to take a photo of someone who puts up with you Leibovitz gave insight into the stories, worlds, and processes behind her photographs.

One of five siblings, Leibovitz cites family photographs—capturing them, posing in them, looking through albums—as the catalyst to her interest in photography. While studying painting at the San Fransisco Art Institute in 1968, Leibovitz took a night course in photography. She quickly admired the medium because "it was fast." While still a student, Leibovitz began her career at Rolling Stone Magazine, where she was known for "blurr[ing] the lines between celebrity and civilian, interviewer and interviewee, artist and subject, dissolving the boundary separating Leibovitz from those captured in her photograph" (Hauser & Wirth).

When reflecting on her early work, career frustrations, and successes, Leibovitz's advice to Salt students centered around the possibilities of youth photography:

"My early work is my best work. It's so honest and alive...I look back at those photographs and there's this young person out there who's insane, who's taking pictures all the time. Everything in front of me was a photograph. You are in that moment where you can revel in that sort of insanity."

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