The Creative Vision of the Tenacious Jeff Lipsky
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Palisadian-Post PALIThursday, November L 27, 2014 IFE Page 13 The Creative Vision of the Tenacious Jeff Lipsky How a Celebrity Photographer Brings the Cool, Captures Real Moments and Raises Three Kids in the Palisades By SIERRA DAVIS pressure to capture not only a great image Pali Life Editor – but the perfect image – under the time and space constraints of the client, requires is images of Chris Pratt fill the pag- weeks of planning for one half-hour shoot, es of People magazine’s Sexiest he explained. Taking the actual photo ac- Men Alive issue this month and his counts for 10 percent or less of the time, he shots of Damien Chazelle, director added. of Whiplash, grace the October issue Once on set, Lipsky will often spend of Vogue. He shot Jason Statham for the cover as much time talking with the subject as he of French GQ and Brittany Spears took to Insta- spends shooting. A lot goes into making his Jeff Lipsky gram to sing his praises after a recent shoot for client comfortable in hopes of creating – and her Vegas show. He traveled to Belfast to shoot capturing – a real moment in time, he said. Game of Thrones star Kit Harington and got Zac “I remember shooting Philip Seymour Efron, Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller to go Hoffman and he had this incredibly sponta- swimming in suits and ties for a Glamour maga- neous moment where he picked up a can of zine shoot – and that is just a sampling from the blue paint that was nearby and just started past year. painting his face,” Lipsky remembers. “We By all accounts, Palisadian photographer didn’t plan for that, but we went with it and Jeff Lipsky has made it as one of the top celeb- that shot was the first moment that I thought rity and advertising photographers. And he attri- I had really done something.” butes it all to three things: timing, tenacity and Sometimes Lipsky will shoot at a beach talent – in that order. house, even though he isn’t shooting the “You have to put yourself in the right place beach. Or he’ll set his subject to look out at at the right time and you have to be persistent. I the sunset, even though he is shooting in the was constantly shooting – it’s everything when opposite direction. you’re starting out,” he told the Post during an “It’s the setting that helps create an or- interview in his Santa Monica office. “And tal- ganic, natural environment,” he said. “When ent comes from practice. That’s what makes you people feel comfortable with themselves, you more comfortable and allows you to be creative.” can see it in the viewfinder. I want them to en- Learning how to handle a camera was the joy the experience and at the end of the day, easy part. Though he only took one photography the thing I want to hear is, ‘That was fun.’” class while studying advertising at Boston Uni- Looking through Lipsky’s portfolio of All photos courtesy of Jeff Lipsky All photos courtesy of Jeff versity, Lipsky has always had a love for the art. upbeat images, it does look fun, and it is But landing the cover shots of popular mag- clear his aptitude for capturing images azines and booking national advertising cam- that are authentic and lively is very much paigns has been a journey – one that included a connected to the man behind the camera. A Lost Art stop in Colorado along the way. Technically, he is fully competent. He knows his equipment, his lighting; that’s a Lipsky, who learned to shoot film on a 35 mm GO WEST, YOUNG MAN given. But he is also exceptionally charis- Nikon he was given for his bar mitzvah, was known as matic. He’s a people person – and that’s a one of the last film holdouts in the industry.Bon Appe- After graduating from college, Lipsky load- big part of the job, he said. tit and Vogue were still letting him shoot old school un- ed the car and headed west for Telluride, Colora- Lipsky’s cool mix of charm and re- til about three years ago when he had to go full digital. do. Snowboarding had just become legal at the laxed confidence exudes a compelling While he’s learned to adapt to the more instant process, resort and Lipsky planned to spend a season leav- attractiveness that comes from a sincere Lipksy said the permanence of working with film made ing fresh tracks on unridden snow. That first ski appreciation for doing what he truly loves him a more efficient shooter – and he still craves it. season came and went and one winter turned into – and that’s a big part of the job as well. “Something was lost when film went out,” he said. two, then three. Ultimately, Lipsky would spend “I’m trying to take the most beautiful “There is a certain ease with digital that is nice, but the next 10 years in Colorado. photo I can, not just for the client but for something was definitely lost. There was an intimacy “I was snowboarding at least 200 days a year. myself,” he said. “I like to make women in seeing your film for the first time. It was special. It was incredible. It was more normal for me to look beautiful and men look cool. I like to Now my images are on a monitor and 30 people see sit on a chairlift than to sit on a chair,” he said. portray people in the best way. I like seeing them before I do. Coming from film, I know you don’t When he wasn’t on the mountain, Lipsky people feel good. That makes me feel good.” need to shoot a lot of frames – you just need the right was working as a fly-fishing guide. Inspired by frame.” the natural beauty of his surroundings, his in- A BALANCING ACT As for the digital push that has put a high-resolu- terest in photography peaked. He spent a year tion camera in the hands of anyone with a cellphone shooting for a local newspaper before he made Working in an incredibly high-pressure – Lipsky isn’t worried. the decision to continue on his decade-delayed industry does carry its own set of challeng- “I think it’s great that everyone is able to constant- road trip west to California. es – including a need to be versatile, flexible ly take photos with their phones. I love to look at pho- “I moved to Los Angeles with the sole in- – and a good traveler. One week he’s shoot- tography – now I get to see more of it,” he said. “But tention of learning to take photos. That’s what I ing album packaging for Keith Urban; the it’s one thing to take a photo and another thing to cap- wanted to do and I came here to do it,” he said. next he’s shooting for Roxy in Hawaii or Jon ture a great image.” Lipsky spent eight months working for free Hamm for the cover of a magazine. Lipsky shares his images and behind-the-scenes in the grip room at Smash Box studios, all the Lipsky racks up more than 120,000 air- adventures on Instagram (@jefflipsky), Facebook and while shooting his own images at rapid fire. line miles every year for the job, often trav- Twitter (@jefflipsky). “That’s how I learned the ropes,” he said. eling from his home in the Palisades to New Ellen Page “I’d ask for the leftover film after a shoot and York for the day or an overnight stay in Lon- then ask the assistant stylist and assistant make- don. He spent a week on a job in Alaska he- Chris Pratt up artist if they would help out. I photographed li-skiing with Tony Hawk and once, he flew everyone I knew.” to the Artic Circle for just four hours. Lipsky was in the right place at the right “It’s the dream job. But sometimes when time. Through his connection with the studio, he you’re doing it, you forget it is. The travel is began assisting some of the top photographers in long, the work is not easy and I don’t want to LA. be away from my family,” he said. I’m ex- While assisting on a shoot, he caught the at- tremely hands on with my kids and I hate to tention of a magazine editor based in New York be away from them.” City who invited him to drop by if he was ever in When he’s not on the clock, Lipsky is town. Lipsky made sure he was. One connection likely walking his six-year-old son to school led to another and the LA-based new kid on the or wrangling his four-year-old twins with his block was booking jobs in the Big Apple. wife Jill, a lifelong Palisadian. The family “There was a time when everyone thought made their move from Venice to the Palisades you had to be in New York to be shooting. But four years ago and he admits – he went kick- I made a definite choice to be in L.A. and I’m ing and screaming. Jon Hamm glad I did,” he said. “The most flattering thing is “It turned out to be the best decision of having a New York magazine fly in an LA pho- my life,” he said.