| Brian Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 16, 1959 Ames, Iowa, United States |
| Nationality | American (United States) |
| Field | Photography |
| Training | University of Missouri |
| Awards | Pulitzer Prize; Pictures of the Year |
Brian Smith is an American photographer best known for his celebrity portrait photography. Born in Ames, Iowa, he got his start in photography while a high school swimmer photographing swimming and other sports as a stringer for the Ames Daily Tribune. As a 20-year-old journalism student at the University of Missouri[1] in Columbia, Missouri his first magazine photograph was published in LIFE Magazine showing New York Yankees' manager Billy Martin crying at Thurman Munson’s funeral. The photography staff of the Orange County Register, which included Smith, won a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.[2]
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Brian Smith's portraits of celebrities, athletes and business executives have appeared on the covers of magazines, including his photograph of Pope John Paul II, which was featured on the cover of Newsweek in 2005.[3] Smith's book "Art and Soul," featuring his portraits of celebrities Tim Daly, Tony Bennett, Anne Hathaway, Dana Delany, Kerry Washington, Alfre Woodard, Zooey Deschanel, Alyssa Milano, and David Hyde Pierce is accompanied by personal testimonials from each artist expressing their support for the importance of the arts in their lives was presented to The White House and Congress to support public funding for arts and arts education.[4]
Smith, won the Pulitzer Prize for his photographs of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.[2] while photography staff of the Orange County Register. In 1988, he and Carol Guzy were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for their photographs of Haiti in turmoil for the Miami Herald.[2] His photograph of Greg Louganis hitting his head on the diving board at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games won first prize in the Sports category of the 1988 World Press Photo[5] and was featured in Photo District News as a memorable sports photograph.[6] He has been featured in Photo District News' Portraiture Issue, the Communication Arts Photography Annual and Pop Photo. He has won or placed in the Pictures of the Year competition multiple times.
Smith is President of Editorial Photographers (EP),[7] a photography trade organization of 2,000 magazine photographers and photojournalists from around the world. He has taught and lectured on Magazine Celebrity Photography at Trade Shows including PhotoPlus Expo in New York and WPPI in Las Vegas. He has lectured students on the Business of Editorial Photography at Brooks Institute of Photography, Ohio University, Hallmark Institute [8] and the Atlanta and Fort Lauderdale Art Institutes. His television appearances include Fine Living Channel's "Me vs. Me".[9]
He lives in Miami Beach, Florida, United States with his wife, fashion stylist Fazia Ali. He is the son of Iowa State University Industrial Engineering professor-emeritus Gerald W. Smith author of Engineering Economy: Analysis of Capital Expenditures.