Russian President Vladimir Putin was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 2007. Photographer Platon was selected to take his portrait for the cover, an image which has now gained far more reach and notoriety than just the magazine's cover. Here, he talks about his experience photographing one of the most powerful people in the world.
Vladimir Putin is a highly controversial figure, particularly in the West, where many of his policies and practices are considered antithetical to those of the United States and other countries. Photographer Platon has a resume a mile long, having photographed countless high-profile figures, including Prince, Serena Williams, President Barack Obama, and many more. His photos have appeared in numerous international publications, having been featured on the cover of Time Magazine alone over 20 times. When he met with Putin to shoot his portrait, the experience began in a predictably intense way, with Platon looking for some sort of common ground upon which to build a rapport with the Russian President. Watch below as he explains the way he found that common ground and how his portrait evolved past a magazine cover and became the face of an entire movement.
[via Huffington Post]
It gave me goosebumps.
back to subject... i like PLATON's black and white pics mostly... following him on instagram and he has a lot really good pictures inner
Whatever your judgement is I don't know who you are and I do know who Platon is... and he is taking portraits of most influential people on the planet... I guess his "thinking too much of himself" works for him just fine.
I do agree about what you've said. I just mean that he has reasons to be proud and it works for his business.
Personally I don't like that he is taking sides, excusing himself for taking portraits of Putin. Like that was something bad, but at least people used it in positive way...
He posed similarly to Abe Lincoln's statue... And the low angle make it looks like a giant too!
Interesting portrait, light is pretty hard, and shooting angle is low, conveys much power. Great job. Looks like only the one light to butterfly Putin and one on the background. And, the art of getting the shot, thanks for the explanation.
If I may throw the thought out there. Take out your feelings of this man and see him as just that. A client who wished to be photographed in a manner that showed strength and power. The photographer preformed the job well. The customer was very happy and ultimately showed kindness and compassion to the photographer as a way of saying thank you.
Later that client's photo is published, stolen and used in a manner not intended by the photographer nor the client. Any client has every right to be upset. Not sending Christmas card is not an insult to the photographer, but a show of dissatisfaction that the image this person created could so easily be destroyed. He may have no qualms with the photographer, but that image was his only attachment (that we know of) with eachother, so by ruining that, there in goes the bond.
This photographer is trying to get 15 minutes more of fame. This sounds more like a movie. So This is what I think of this video: "Absolutely incompetent propagandist shitty video based on cheap stereotypes in the minds of the most westerners, unfortunately" World's scariest men? go and try to photograph some ISIS fighters they may agree with that.