![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.limitedruns.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Stephen-Stickler.jpg\" "\\"Stephen")
<\/a>Relaxed. Comfortable. Honest. Real. Those are just a few of the words used to describe the subjects of Stephen Stickler\u2019s portraits. Although many have said the veteran photographer has a \u201cdistinct style,\u201d he prefers to call it \u201ca philosophy.\u201d He refuses to fawn or gush over his celebrity subjects. He remains professional.<\/p>\n\u201cWhen you\u2019re famous, everyone wants something from you,\u201d he explains. \u201cFans want autographs. Managers want answers. Publicists want time. I want nothing [for myself]. When the artist arrives at my studio, I introduce myself and then point them in the direction of the hair and makeup people.\u201d<\/p>\n
This disarming approach not only helps his subjects decompress and relax, but also shed their facades; their invisible masks or personas they\u2019re forced to wear to hide from the intrusive public. It is something he confesses to borrowing the late, legendary fashion photographer Helmut Newton, who often told his subjects not to be themselves. Newton gave his subjects the freedom to embody whoever they wanted to be as long as they were not themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I also employ [reverse] psychology,\u201d Stickler admits. \u201cCelebrities are traditionally insecure. Letting them hide behind something will often bring out more emotion and more character than they were willing to share.\u201d<\/p>\n
An artist from a young age with a natural talent for drawing and painting, Stickler was attracted to photography while in high school because of another interest.<\/p>\n
\u201cGirls,\u201d he admits with a smile. \u201cI had crushes on a few girls and photography was a good excuse for me to hang out Instructors took note of the photographer\u2019s growing ability and offered Stickler a scholarship to Los Angeles\u2019 prestigious Art Center, which not only provided a \u201cdense\u201d education, but also allowed him to assist some of the art form\u2019s biggest names.<\/p>\n \u201cPhotography is one of the few professions were you can still learn by serving as an apprentice,\u201d he explains. \u201cDuring my time at the Art Center, I worked with between 50 and 60 different photographers, the most famous of which were Matthew Rolston, Bonnie Schiffman and Wayne Mazur. I also worked with some shitty photographers, but I learned something from each one.\u201d<\/p>\n After graduation, Stickler indulged both his passion for photography and music by joining the fledgling Ray Gun Magazine as its photo editor. Soon he was being offered assignment by such publications as Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and Spin. Major music labels also took notice and began hiring him to shoot album covers. As he continued to develop his craft, he expanded into celebrity portraiture. After working celebrities from all walks of pop culture, he remains most impressed by those who arrive at photo sessions without entourages.<\/p>\n \u201cIt means they\u2019re confident, established and don\u2019t require [coddling],\u201d he says.<\/p>\n \u201cChris arrived at the Seattle rental studio armed with a six-pack of Heineken,\u201d the photographer recalls. \u201cWe sat down, cracked open a few beers and shot the shit for hours.\u201d\u00a0 The photographer laughs. \u201cWe were having such a good time that we nearly forgot why we were there.\u201d<\/p>\n The atmosphere led to one of Stickler\u2019s most familiar images: Cornell, comfortable and relaxed sitting in a chair, appearing reflective.<\/p>\n Another artist that impressed Stickler: Snoop Dogg<\/a>, who the photographer says has not forgotten his roots. After the hip hop star\u2019s burly security guards secured the photographer\u2019s studio, Snoop Dogg parked his Escalade in the studio\u2019s lot and entered the studio, where he spent the next six hours. Stickler was a Snoop Dogg fan before that day, but watching him signing autographs for everyone in line \u201ctook it over the edge.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat guy is fucking cool,\u201d he says<\/strong><\/p>\n Another of the photographer\u2019s lasting images was captured in mere minutes. In 2002, armed with his camera and a single prop\u2014spray-painted headphones adorned with small pavement reflectors\u2014Stickler arrived at a Los Angeles Apple store in-store appearance by Moby<\/a>. The photographer went along the line of fans and asked, \u201cWho wants to be in a photo with Moby?\u201d He then sat the electronica favorite down, had him put on the headphones and instructed the chosen fans to put their fingers on him. Once, Stickler felt everything was right, he shot one roll\u2014just 12 frames\u2014of film. He refers to it as a \u201csuccessful portrait.\u201d \u201cIt says something about Moby through his fans,\u201d he says. \u201cIt says he\u2019s accessible and down to earth. I\u2019m also pleased with the image\u2019s technical aspects. The headphones really pop and his face appears \u2018halo-like.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Another of the photographer\u2019s favorite subjects is Dave Grohl<\/a> (Foo Fighters, Nirvana) with whom he recreated the classic 1983 Maxell audio cassette commercial. \u201cThe image has been parodied before,\u201d he admits, \u201cbut I updated it a bit using an iPod. The assignment was for Sound & Vision Magazine and I was asked to film the session for the magazine\u2019s online edition.<\/p>\n The edited footage can currently be found on vimeo.com by searching on the photographer\u2019s name.<\/p>\n Stickler also had the good fortune of working with Grohl when he contributed drums to Queens of the Stone Age\u2019s Songs for the Deaf (Interscope, 2002). Shot in New York City for Spin Magazine, Stickler\u2019s image features Grohl and the band buried up to their necks in dirt. Commenting on the picture, Queens of the Stone Age<\/a> leader Josh Homme said, \u201c[Stickler] really saw where the band was at point in our career: in over our heads.\u201d<\/p>\n Through his work, Stickler had the privilege of befriending the late Jeff Buckley<\/a>, who sadly passed without realizing the immense potential hinted at on his now-classic debut Grace (Columbia, 1994). Stickler\u2019s is responsible for one of Buckley\u2019s most well-known images, a portrait of the singer-songwriter wearing a green dress shirt.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Check out all of Stephen’s photographs that are available on Limited Runs, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sign-up for our\u00a0newsletter<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>and get\u00a0news, updates and special offers<\/p>\n Limited Runs, the premier destination for discovering and buying the best in original vintage posters, print art and fine art photography, continues to add new items to the site every day and each week we feature some of our latest additions of original vintage film, advertising and rock posters, art prints and photography.<\/p>\n Follow Limited Runs on:<\/p>\n Relaxed. Comfortable. Honest. Real. Those are just a few of the words used to describe the subjects of Stephen Stickler\u2019s portraits. Although many have said the veteran photographer has a \u201cdistinct style,\u201d he prefers to call it \u201ca philosophy.\u201d He refuses to fawn or gush over his celebrity subjects. He remains professional. \u201cWhen you\u2019re famous,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[5],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.limitedruns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1920"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.limitedruns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.limitedruns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.limitedruns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.limitedruns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1920"}],"version-history":[{"count":45,"href":"https:\/\/www.limitedruns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8957,"href":"https:\/\/www.limitedruns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1920\/revisions\/8957"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.limitedruns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.limitedruns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.limitedruns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.limitedruns.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>with them. What really did it for me was when I started shooting and developing photos of this one girl. I remember seeing her beautiful face slowly appearing in the [dark room developing] tray. It took my breath away. It was magical.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/a>One such artist remains the subject of one of his favorite portraits: Chris Cornell<\/a> (Soundgarden, Audioslave), whom he captured in 2000.<\/p>\n<\/a>One of neighborhood locals noticed the star\u2019s arrival and by the time he exited, there were dozens of people milling around outside. Snoop Dogg\u2019s security quickly ushered him to his vehicle, but instead of driving away, he turned around and parked in front of the building. As if it was practiced, the crowd immediately stood up against the studio wall, forming a single-file line and, one by one, they approached his driver\u2019s-side window with something for him to sign.<\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>Ironically the photo was creating with the help of Photoshop with each participant filmed separately wearing a prop made of plywood, cloth and other material. The image was one of Spin\u2019s featured photos during the magazine\u2019s 30th anniversary celebration.<\/p>\n<\/a>\u201cThe girls loved him and he loved the girls,\u201d the photographer fondly recalls. The photo session [that produced the image] was held at the Hollywood apartment of a model Stephen introduced to Jeff the night before. \u2018What a fucking guy!\u2019 Stickler recalls, \u2018he was just so full of life. He was something to behold and I miss him.\u201d<\/p>\nFor lovers of Vintage Posters, Photography and Art — Limited Runs!<\/em><\/h4>\n
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