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While we're used to seeing celebrities in front of the camera, there are plenty of celebrities who love going behind the lens. From famous musicians to award-winning actors, these celebrities use photography as a different creative outlet. Many also frequently exhibit their work and have published photography books.
Take a look at 11 famous celebrities who are also accomplished photographers. Some of the names on the list may surprise you.
These are 11 celebrities who also happen to love photography.
Jessica Lange
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Academy Award-winning actor Jessica Lange is also an accomplished photographer who studied the craft at the University of Minnesota. While she focused on other creative outlets after her time there, she took up photography again in the late 1990s when her former partner Sam Shepherd gifted her a Leica camera. She has since published several photography collections and was honored with the George Eastman Honors Award, which is given out by the world's oldest international museum of photography and film. Her latest book, Dérive, is a collection of street photography taken in New York during the pandemic.
Ben Affleck
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Actor and director Ben Affleck has been a photographer since high school and is a self-professed camera geek. He has a large collection of lenses and cameras and showed off his extensive knowledge of the subject in a funny scene from wife Jennifer Lopez's documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told. In it, Affleck enthusiastically points out all of the equipment available inside a camera truck on set, which caused Lopez to tease, “Oh, this is your fantasy truck!”
In a 2023 interview, Affleck discussed his love for photography, telling the interviewer, “Man, I get made fun of. It’s a very serious addiction.”
Lenny Kravitz
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While he's best known for his music and acting, Lenny Kravitz also has a strong affinity for photography. This isn't surprising, considering that his father was a journalist. In fact, he's collaborated with Leica several times to create limited-edition cameras, and, in 2015, he published Flash. This collection of black and white images captures what it's like to be on the receiving end of paparazzi attention.
“I love storytelling and I have an interesting life in that I’m all over the place with people of every culture and age and background, rich or poor; I love people and that’s the driver for me, I love humanity,” he told GQ Australia about his love for photography.
Bryan Adams
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Rock star Bryan Adams is also well known for his second career as a photographer. He's shot a wide range of imagery, from fashion photography to album covers to photos that raise awareness for charitable causes. He was selected to photograph Queen Elizabeth II several times, and one of his images of her and Prince Philip is now in the National Portrait Gallery in London. In 2021, he was selected to shoot the acclaimed Pirelli Calendar, and his work is regularly exhibited in museums and galleries worldwide.
Gary Oldman
#WorldPhotographyDay
Gary Oldman working at his home studio pic.twitter.com/dGrhxwY8D8— Gary Oldman Web (@GaryOldmanWeb) August 19, 2023
Actor Gary Oldman often takes photographs on set, and these insider glimpses of filmmaking have been exhibited internationally. He's also passionate about wet plate photography and has a home studio that allows him to process the imagery using the early 19th-century process. “There’s just a sort of, magic to it […] There’s something very beautiful about the whole process.” he once shared when discussing how he learned it. “I feel like I sort of had my creative purpose back.”
Helena Christensen
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Supermodel Helena Christensen certainly knows fashion, and she's transferred this into a successful career as a photographer. Both her father and grandfather were avid photographers, and she used her time as a model to absorb the lessons of the great photographers she worked with. Her photos have been published in Nylon—which she co-founded—Marie Claire, and Elle, among other publications. Christensen also frequently exhibits her work and, since 2019, has used her role as a goodwill ambassador for the UNHCR to tell the stories of people living in refugee camps.
“It is a big dream of mine to work for a newspaper or for Magnum Photos—I always keep that goal in my mind. Photojournalism is so enriching; I love capturing a split-second of life,” she told Harper's Bazaar in a 2023 interview.
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen’s photography pic.twitter.com/m0nDnCnYV5
— Felix ²² ❤️ (@ragged_reeling) June 13, 2023
Viggo Mortensen may be best known for his role as Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but he is also a painter and photographer. He used part of his earnings from the famous trilogy to start Perceval Press, which specializes in art, critical writing, and poetry. It's also the home of Mortensen's personal projects, which include many books of poetry and photography. His latest work, Look, asks readers to take in the imagery without a preconceived notion and celebrates beauty in the ordinary world.
Aaron Eckhart
Aaron Eckhart likes using his acting skills to tell stories through his photography. “I’m really just a photography geek,” he once declared. “I just love to shoot.” While considering photography a hobby, he's used his skills to do everything from jewelry campaigns to humanitarian collaborations with organizations like AmeriCares.
Lucy Liu
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Lucy Liu is much more than a Charlie's Angel. Liu is also an accomplished visual artist who incorporates photography into her mixed-media work. Photography is an important part of Liu's artistic career, and her first solo exhibition, in 1993, was a photographic exhibition in New York City that earned her a grant to study at Beijing Normal University. Liu has continued cultivating her visual arts career alongside her acting and frequently exhibits her work internationally.
Jeff Bridges
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For over 30 years, actor Jeff Bridges has used a Widelux F8—a specialized panoramic camera—to capture life on set. Bridges has a whole area of his website dedicated to his photography practice and has published two books, Pictures and Pictures, Volume 2. A photographer since high school, his work has been shown in numerous magazines, and he's exhibited internationally. In 2013, the International Center of Photography honored him with an Infinity Award.
Nikki Sixx
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Motley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx is a dedicated Leica user who frequently publishes his work on a dedicated Instagram account. The rocker began his journey with photography after he became sober and once declared, “I'm a recovering addict. Cameras are my new drug.” Sixx mainly focuses on street photography and has exhibited his work at the Los Angeles Leica Gallery. His book, This is Gonna Hurt, combines his images with prose to gain a deeper insight into his life.
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