Michael Grecco

For other people named Michael Greco, see Michael Greco (disambiguation).

Michael Grecco
Michael Grecco at the launch of his book, Naked Ambition

Michael Grecco attending the premiere of his movie: "Naked Ambition" Hollywood, CA on April 30, 2009

Michael Grecco is an American celebrity photographer. While studying filmmaking and photography at Boston University, Grecco began working freelance for the Associated Press as a photojournalist. During that time, he also began his career as a magazine photographer, which has included an extensive body of work for various national magazines including Time and Newsweek. As a staff photographer for daily metropolitan newspaper the Boston Herald, he won numerous Boston Press Photographers awards, most notably for his coverage of Hurricane Gloria in 1985.

As a regular contributor to People, Grecco made his transition from hard-news photojournalism to photographic coverage of celebrity-driven events, including the Golden Globes, the Emmy Awards and the Academy Awards. Seeking more personal interaction with his subjects, he used this experience to launch his current career as a celebrity portrait photographer.

Since 1992, Grecco has been regularly shooting magazine covers for Time, Wired, Entertainment Weekly, ESPN, People and others. His celebrity portrait subjects have included Martin Scorsese, Hugh Hefner, Robert Duvall, Lucy Liu, Will Ferrell, Mel Brooks, Christina Applegate, Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Penelope Cruz, Jet Li, Bill Murray, Joaquin Phoenix and Rene Russo. Grecco's work has gained attention for its intimate quality and ability to capture the emotion as well as the appearance of his subjects.

In addition to his contributions to three photography collections, including Esquire magazine's book "Brothers" in 1999, he has published three books of his own. Grecco's The Art of Portrait Photography, Creative Lighting Techniques and Strategies (2000) and Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait, the Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography (2006) are devoted to educating others in his field.

Naked Ambition: An R Rated Look at an X Rated Industry, is Grecco's most liberated work to date. The hardcover coffee table book, aimed to appeal to the art community and adult-entertainment fans in equal measure, features forewords by rock musician Dave Navarro and controversial magazine publisher Larry Flynt. The work was edited by former Hustler and RIP magazine editor Lonn Friend and former FHM editor Rob Hill. The book contains colorful, revealing and often light-hearted portraits of such adult-entertainment stars as Jenna Jameson, Ron Jeremy, Larry Flynt, Tera Patrick and husband Evan Seinfeld, John Stagliano (aka Buttman), Alexandra Silk, Katsuni, Kurt Lockwood, and Sunny Lane.

Grecco has frequently been involved in litigation including litigation with Dow Jones 1, Hythiam 2, Gawker 3, and others.

External links

• Time Multimedia Video - Photoshoot with Penelope Cruz and Pedro Almodovar
• Rangefinder interview
• Double Exposure feature
• Michael Grecco website
• Naked Ambition website
• Michael Grecco's social networking site on MySpace
• Michael Grecco - Naked Ambition Preview

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Name	Grecco, Michael
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