To Robert Whitman, photography is about more than just the pictures - it is a way of moving through life.
And Robert's pictures reflect a man who lives openly, passionately and simply. From his vivid reportage shots of Cuban streetlife to intimate glimpses of languid embraces and gestures, his pictures emit a unique luminous movement that has become his trademark. He has the ability to evoke a vibration or motion in even the most static images; and his love for capturing elusive moments has given him the ability to find spontaneity even in the controlled atmosphere of studio shoot.
Thus it is sometimes hard to distinguish which of Robert's images have been staged on a set and which have been captured in life. All of his shots look - and feel - like real moments. He attributes this aesthetic to his ability to relate with his subjects and make them feel immediately comfortable with him. "I'm a nice guy, a simple guy," he says in complete earnestness. Clients and subjects alike welcome the breath of genuineness that Robert brings to his work.
A self-proclaimed hippie, Robert left Minneapolis early in his career (where he was Prince's first principal photographer) to settle in New York. Since then, he has worked in the editorial field - Glamour, Marie Claire, Self, Cosmopolitan and others have hosted his images - and he has won laurels in the advertising sector, where his clients include Dewar's, Clinique, Coca-Cola, Marlboro, 7 Up, Visa, Dove and Doublemint, to name a few. He has been interviewed in PDN, Picture and Zoom magazines. Robert lives in New York and is currently working on a monograph.
- text by Maria Lin
And Robert's pictures reflect a man who lives openly, passionately and simply. From his vivid reportage shots of Cuban streetlife to intimate glimpses of languid embraces and gestures, his pictures emit a unique luminous movement that has become his trademark. He has the ability to evoke a vibration or motion in even the most static images; and his love for capturing elusive moments has given him the ability to find spontaneity even in the controlled atmosphere of studio shoot.
Thus it is sometimes hard to distinguish which of Robert's images have been staged on a set and which have been captured in life. All of his shots look - and feel - like real moments. He attributes this aesthetic to his ability to relate with his subjects and make them feel immediately comfortable with him. "I'm a nice guy, a simple guy," he says in complete earnestness. Clients and subjects alike welcome the breath of genuineness that Robert brings to his work.
A self-proclaimed hippie, Robert left Minneapolis early in his career (where he was Prince's first principal photographer) to settle in New York. Since then, he has worked in the editorial field - Glamour, Marie Claire, Self, Cosmopolitan and others have hosted his images - and he has won laurels in the advertising sector, where his clients include Dewar's, Clinique, Coca-Cola, Marlboro, 7 Up, Visa, Dove and Doublemint, to name a few. He has been interviewed in PDN, Picture and Zoom magazines. Robert lives in New York and is currently working on a monograph.
- text by Maria Lin