Mark Abrahams (born 1958) is an American fashion and

portrait photographer Portrait photography, or portraiture, is a type of photography aimed toward capturing the personality of a person or group of people by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses. A portrait photograph may be artistic or clinical. Frequentl ...

whose work has been featured in ''Bazaar'', ''Glamour'', '' GQ'', ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted man ...

'', ''V'', ''Vanity Fair'', and ''Vogue''.Homeagency.com
“Mark Abrahams”
“ Home Agency”. Retrieved on 20 May 2014.“Covers”
“ Mark Abrahams.com”. Retrieved on 20 May 2014. He has created powerful portraits of high profile celebrities in raw, black and white detail.

Early life

Abrahams was born in Santa Ana, California, and discovered photography when he was given a Nikon FM camera. As a young man in the 1980s, Abrahams worked as a truck driver by day, while at night he developed film and retouched negatives in a darkroom he created out of his bathroom.Artbook.co
“Mark Abrahams”
“ Artbook.com”. Retrieved on 20 May 2014. By the early 1990s Abrahams was photographing musicians and supermodels. His editorial shots appeared in international editions of ''Vogue'', ''GQ'', and other publications.Models.com
“Mark Abrahams”
“Models.com” Retrieved on 20 May 2014.

Career

Portraits and Editorial

Abrahams has created photographs for over 30 years. His work has appeared in ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Glamour'', ''GQ'', ''Vanity Fair'', ''Interview Magazine'', and more. In 2015, he photographed Sharon Stone and Allison Williams for ''Harper's Bazaar'' Abrahams has photographed multiple covers for ''Vogue'', and has had over 630 editorial photographs featured in prestigious fashion magazines and journals.The photographer explains that in his portrait and editorial work, “The intent of it is to strip away all the norms and expectations and get to the heart of the matter." He has photographed such icons as Julianne Moore,

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...

, James Franco,

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Sean Diddy Combs Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish language, Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (Anglicisation of names, anglicized as ''Shaun/Shawn (giv ...

, and

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in ''Giant'' (1956). In the next ten years ...

, as well as figures from politics, arts, and sports, including

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

, Ed Ruscha, and

Evander Holyfield Evander Holyfield (born October 19, 1962) is an American former professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2011. He reigned as the undisputed champion at cruiserweight in the late 1980s and at heavyweight in the early 1990s, and is the on ...

. "His subjects are not just famous, but often 'important.'" Annie Lebovitz explained about Abrahams, "Mark’s portraits are very clear & simple. It makes celebrities into people. I see the people. The portraits are direct."

Advertising

Abrahams photos have empowered advertisement campaigns including: * L'Oreal featuring Susan Sarandon * Avon * Neiman Marcus * Converse * Warner Brother's Pictures * Barclay's Bank *

Omega Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/isopsephy (gematria), it has a value of 800. The wo ...

Exhibitions and Publications

"Two Colors"

Abrahams' work has been presented at international art exhibits including the Jaguar Summer Museum in Moscow called "Two Colors".

Mark Abrahams

In 2011, Abrahams released a book of candid black-and-white portraits featuring celebrities and personal photos titled ''Mark Abrahams''. Annie Lebovitz hosted Abrahams' self-titled book launch. "Annie said that when she looks at isimages, she sees the person and not the celebrity."

Personal life

Family

He is married to designer Alexis Abrahams. The couple have one daughter together.

Charity

Abrahams has had charitable projects with FINCA,

Hope for Haiti Now ''Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief'' was a charity telethon held on January 22, 2010 from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (January 23, 2010 from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. UTC). The telethon was the most widely distri ...

, and MSK Cancer Research.

Social media

Abrahams created an

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account in 2016,

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

page, and personal website.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abrahams, Mark 1958 births Living people People from Greenwich Village 20th-century American photographers 21st-century American photographers American portrait photographers Fashion photographers