Anne Hathaway

A Holiday Gift to the Arts

by Brian Smith on December 19, 2011

in Books

Looking for a last minute Christmas Gift? Want to do something to support the arts? Here’s a way you can do both…

ART & SOUL is a 256-page over-sized coffee table book featuring portraits of 123 celebrities paired with their inspirational stories about how the arts has shaped their lives. The project, shot around the country over a 15-month period in partnership with The Creative Coalition and support of Sony, has been taken to Capitol Hill to lobby for Arts funding. The book feature portraits of many Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony Award-winners including Anne Hathaway, Kerry Washington, Patricia Arquette, Adrien Brody, Alyssa Milano, Adrian Grenier, Taraji P. Henson, Tony Bennett, Kelsey Grammer, Paula Abdul, Tim Daly, Taye Diggs and Samuel L. Jackson.

A portion of the proceeds goes to The Creative Coalition to promote Arts in Education.

Order your copy today: http://amzn.to/saveart!

Art & Soul available at Amazon.com
“So giant-size big…the book needs a grand piano, not a coffee table.” – CINDY ADAMS/NEW YORK POST

“When you look through the book, you’ll be reminded of why you became a creative artist in the first place. Seeing the magnificent portraits and reading the words of these enormously talented performers can’t help but inspire you.” – DIGITAL PHOTO PRO

“There were prints that were so beautiful they may as well have been paintings.” – CHICAGO TRIBUNE

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ART & SOUL at W Los Angeles Westwood

by Brian Smith on November 2, 2011

in Exhibits

Celebrity portraits from ART & SOUL will be on exhibit in the lobby of the W Hotel Los Angeles Westwood for the month of November  2011. Featured in the exhibit are portraits of Anne Hathaway, Samuel L Jackson, Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, Alyssa Milano, Kerry Washington, Cheryl Hines, Dana Delany, Tim Daly, Richard Schiff, Dulé Hill, Harry Belafonte, Lynn Whitfield and Chris Botti. Please stop by to check the beautiful prints from Duggal…

Samuel L Jackson ART & SOUL print in the lobby of the W Hotel Los Angeles Westwood - November 2011Dulé Hill ART & SOUL print in the lobby of the W Hotel Los Angeles Westwood - November 2011

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The Hollywood Reporter Spotlights ART & SOUL

by Brian Smith on October 14, 2011

in Books

Fantastic piece about ART & SOUL by Lindsay Powers in The Hollywood Reporter today spotlighting Anne Hathaway, Samuel L. Jackson, Adrian Grenier and Nia Vardalos. Thanks for the love THR!

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ART & SOUL AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!

by Brian Smith on October 6, 2011

in Books

After two years and over 25,000 photographs, my first book, ‘Art & Soul: Stars Unite to Celebrate and Support the Arts’ is NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON. Just in time for National Arts Month, ART & SOUL is a wonderful way to support the arts. A generous portion of the proceeds from the book will go to advocate funding of the Arts and Arts Education through The Creative Coalition, a nonprofit, nonpartisan social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community. Founded in 1989 by prominent members of the creative community, The Creative Coalition is dedicated to educating its members on issues of public importance.

Through generous support from Sony, the ART & SOUL arts advocacy project features my portraits of artists from the entertainment industry accompanied by handwritten personal testimonials from each artist expressing the importance of the arts education in our culture and the positive impact the arts has on our lives. The project was twice taken to Capitol Hill to rally support for funding the arts and arts education.

Artists photographed for ‘Art & Soul’ include Adrian Grenier, Adrien Brody, Alan Cumming, Alfre Woodard, Alyssa Milano, Amanda Peet, Anne Hathaway, Barry Bostwick, Ben Vareen, Chazz Palminteri, Cheryl Hines, Chris Botti, Dana Delany, David Hyde Pierce, Debi Mazar, Dule Hill, Eddie Griffin, Jr., Ellen Burstyn, Evan Handler, Fisher Stevens, Harry Belafonte, Hill Harper, J. Alexander, James Denton, Jamie Kennedy, Jason Ritter, Jesse Williams, Joe Mantegna, Joel Schumaker, Josh Radnor, John Turturro, Kelsey Grammer, Kerry Washington, Lynn Whitfield, Marlon Wayans, Matthew Modine, Melissa Manchester, Mo’Nique, Oliver Platt, Omar Epps, Patricia Arquette, Paula Abdul, Peter Gallagher, Richard Belzer, Samuel L Jackson, Spike Lee, Steven Weber, Taraji P Henson, Taye Diggs, Tim Daly, Tony Bennett and Wendie Malick.

ART & SOUL is the cornerstone of a grassroots campaign to focus national attention on the need to ensure that arts in America thrive and flourish. A preview of the project was shown at the Library of Congress in May 2010.

ART & SOUL is a wonderful way for those of us lucky enough to make a living from the arts to have an opportunity to show our support and give back.

Order yours today at: http://amzn.to/saveart

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Pre-order ‘Art & Soul’ on Amazon

by Brian Smith on April 30, 2011

in Books

‘Art & Soul: Stars Unite to Celebrate and Support the Arts’ is now available for pre-order on Amazon. This book is a wonderful way to support the arts. A generous portion of the proceeds from the book will go to advocate funding of the Arts and Arts Education through The Creative Coalition, a nonprofit, nonpartisan social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community. Founded in 1989 by prominent members of the creative community, The Creative Coalition is dedicated to educating its members on issues of public importance.

Through generous support from Sony, the ‘Art & Soul’ arts advocacy project features my portraits of artists from the entertainment industry accompanied by handwritten personal testimonials from each artist expressing the importance of the arts education in our culture and the positive impact the arts has on our lives. The project has been taken to Capitol Hill to rally support for funding of the arts and arts education.

Artists photographed for ‘Art & Soul’ include Adrian Grenier, Alyssa Milano, Anne Hathaway, Kelsey Grammer, Kerry Washington, Matthew Modine, Omar Epps, Patricia Arquette, Paula Abdul, Peter Gallagher, Samuel L Jackson, Spike Lee, Taye Diggs, Tim Daly, Tony Bennett and .

‘Art & Soul’ is the cornerstone of a grassroots campaign to focus national attention on the need to ensure that arts in America thrive and flourish. A preview of the project was shown at the Library of Congress in May 2010.

‘Art & Soul’ is a wonderful way for those of us lucky enough to make a living from the arts to have an opportunity to show our support and give back.

Order yours today at: http://amzn.to/saveart

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ASK BRIAN: How do you Light?

by Brian Smith on March 24, 2011

in Ask Brian Smith

Q: I am in love with your Anne Hathaway photo. Is the beauty dish really the only light source in this shot or is there reflector fill underneath? I’m amazed at how even the light is on her face.

A: What’s not to love about Anne Hathaway? She’s a dream to photograph and she has the most expressive eyes I have ever seen. The lighting was quite simple. The key light was a Profoto Beauty Dish from the left with a touch of fill directly behind the camera. I rarely fill from below because I want the chin to fall into shadow. Instead, I try to get the key light in just the right spot. The great thing about simple lighting is that you can forget about the light and just concentrate on interacting with the person in front of your lens and when that person you’ve photographing is Anne, that’s a VERY good thing…

Q: Brian I am Partha from India I am really impressed to see yr works, I think u r very comfortable both indoor & outdoor, I hv few questions to ask re indoor shooting, mainly back drop, lighting setup etc

A: Hello Paratha, Indoors or out, always start with a single light and don’t add another until you’ve gotten every drop of beauty out of that one light.

Q: Brian, do you have a small series of photos that a underfunded college art gallery could have on loan. We can fund shipping and printing for mailers but not much else. We are starved for really good stuff. c. 70 lineal feet. rthomas@virginiawestern.edu. asked by radsue

A: I might have just the thing if you can wait until October: http://amzn.to/saveart

Q: Can I assist for you? asked by jasongrow

A: Only if I can be your official White House Photographer. Ladies and Gentleman, meet my dear friend, former councilman Jason Grow – soon to be the junior Senator from Massachusetts…

 

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ART & SOUL Goes to Congress

by Brian Smith on April 20, 2010

in Exhibits

Mr. and Mrs. Smith Go to Washington

A beautiful day in Washington at the Library of Congress

Anne Hathaway in the Library of Congress 'Art & Soul' Exhibit

The Creative Coalition will host an exclusive one-night-only sneak preview of my portraits of performing artists from the entertainment industry with an exhibit of the ‘Art & Soul’ project in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress on April 29th. ‘Art & Soul’ is the cornerstone of The Creative Coalition’s arts advocacy campaign to focus national attention on the need to secure federal funding and support for the arts.

Entertainment for the evening’s star-studded event will be The Creative Coalition’s one-night show by the same name, ‘Art & Soul’.  The show, written and produced by multiple Emmy Award-winning producer Tom Fontana (Oz, Homicide:  Life on Street) starring Co-Presidents of The Creative Coalition, Tim Daly (Private Practice) and Dana Delany (Desperate Housewives); director Spike Lee (Do The Right Thing); actors Adrian Grenier (Entourage), Omar Epps (House); Marlon Wayans (White Chicks, Scary Movie),  Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm); Steven Weber (Brothers & Sisters); Wendie Malick (Confessions of a Shopaholic, Just Shoot Me);  Richard Schiff (The West Wing) and CCH Pounder (Avatar) among others to be announced.

The portraits of artists including Anne Hathaway, Samuel Jackson, Alyssa Milano, Tony Bennett and Kerry Washington are accompanied by handwritten personal testimonials from each individual, expressing the positive impact art has had on their lives which will appear in a book to be published by Filipacchi Publishing. The exhibition is sponsored by Sony and Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. and it will showcase 20 photographs from the project printed by Duggal Visual Solutions.

“We are proud to enlist the members of The Creative Coalition to bring arts to the top of the American agenda,” said The Creative Coalition Executive Director Robin Bronk. “Art & Soul is The Creative Coalition’s initiative that brings together today’s greatest artistic voices and storytellers to illuminate the importance – to every American — of support for the arts and efficacy of arts in education.”

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ART & SOUL Spotlighted on Production Paradise

by Brian Smith on February 16, 2010

in Hype

Thanks to Production Paradise for Spotlighting the Art & Soul Project. It’s been a great project to be able to work with The Creative Coalition and all the artists to show support for funding the arts and arts education. Thanks of all to all the celebrities including Samuel Jackson, Anne Hathaway, Adrian Grenier, Taraji P. Henson, Dule Hill, Tichina Arnold, Tony Bennett, Alyssa Milano, David Hyde Pierce, Tim Daly, Lynn Whitfield, Harry Belafonte, Richard Belzer, Robert Davi and Tamala Jones….for lending their voices to this great cause and their wonderful faces to my camera!

If you have checked out Production Paradise, take a look…they’re the directory and showcase for the visual media industry.

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Cupcakes from Anne Hathaway

by Brian Smith on March 18, 2009

in Celebrity Portrait Photography

We’re in New York, shooting more celebrities for The Creative Coalition’s book “Art & Soul” which will be distributed to President Obama and Congress this May. Assignments this good are really rare. Even though I’ve been l blessed with more than my share of unbelievable assignments in my career, shooting portraits of so many Oscar winners, Tony winners, Grammy winners and Emmy winners was about as cool gig as I can imagine.

Photographing Anne Hathaway is the sort of experience that can hardly be topped, except of course when Anne showed up at our shoot with a box of her favorite cupcakes for our crew. Thanks Annie for being even sweeter than I’d imagined. Thanks also to Anne’s hair stylist Ted Gibson. Not only is Ted one of the top stylists in the country, but he knows how to work a wind machine…

Actress Anne Hathaway and photographer Brian SmithActress Anne Hathaway

After that we headed uptown to Tony Bennett’s Central Park apartment where we talked about what the arts has meant to him, both as a singer and as an artist. Tony credits Frank Sinatra for giving his career a big break. As a way of giving back Tony founded the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts in his hometown of Astoria, Queens.

Singer Tony Bennett

In the end we shot over 9,000 images and 350 gigs of RAW data without a single slowdown or problem. During the shoots, the artists in this book and I rarely spoke of fame, fortune or fabulous performances. We spoke about their childhoods and what led them to where they are today. Regardless of whether they grew up in small towns and large cities, rich or poor, their lives were all shaped and influenced by the arts and the artists who influenced their careers.

My thanks go out to Ted Okada, Steve Sommers, Phil Lubell, Kristen Elder and Mark Weir of Sony for their support of this project, Kayla Lindquist, director of Sony Artisans of Imagery program, Jeffrey Roberts of American PHOTO, Al Silvestri, Alissa Reynolds and Anna Martin of Hachette Filipacchi Media, Eileen Gittins of Blurb, and special thanks to Robin Bronk and Barbara Horvath of The Creative Coalition.

EQUIPMENT:
Sony a900 Cameras
Sony Zeiss 24-70/2.8 Zoom
Sony Zeiss 85/1.4
Sony Zeiss 16-35/2.8 Zoom
Profoto 7A 2400 Packs
Profoto 7 Heads

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