Luxury Guide

"...I think what this is supposed to be doing is calling into question what makes a portrait, to some extent, and redefining it or I don’t know, trying to push the boundary of what can be a portrait." - Chris Buck

"You know, Nick Cave’s reaction was typical. I showed him examples from the series and he just said, 'Sure, I’ll do it.' And he didn’t really say it either like, 'This is genius!' or like, 'It’s stupid but I guess I’ll do it.' He just said, 'Sure.'" - Chris Buck

"One of my favorites is the Kathy Griffin one, which is quite quiet and kind of unlike her but I think it’s one of the most interesting for that reason. And actually she didn’t really wanna do it. It was the rare time where the publicist was totally on my side and was like, 'Just shut up and do it,' and so she did it. [laughs] Cause the publicist thought it was a cool series." - Chris Buck

"There was something nice about it, and exciting, about them actually being in the shot. And also it kind of makes it more valid, […] obviously on some level the whole thing is a bit silly but if you can say, 'Yeah, Jon Hamm is actually in the shot,' it does change the way you perceive the picture." - Chris Buck

"Some people totally connect and they’re very excited about it, and they just get really into looking at each one and studying each one and just getting into the…intellectual aspect of connecting the name with the scene and letting the person and their story influence how they see the picture." - Chris Buck

"There were times where people around me, confidents who I really trust, were kind of like, 'Is this something you really want to do? You’re putting a lot of time and energy into something that may not really have much of a payoff.' But I think it was important for me to do this, in a way, even though obviously I’m very proud of the other work I do, it’s kind of the ultimate statement of…a celebrity photographer…'I’ve got this access and I’m gonna photograph Robert DeNiro, but I’m not gonna show him.'" - Chris Buck

"Early on, in a way there's a kind of arrogance of youth that can be quite powerful and the fact that you have nothing to lose is actually great too." - Chris Buck

"One of the things that’s really inspired me by doing the Presence project and having a good response to it is I realize that I want to continue doing series work that is…driven by an idea or concept and not be based on documentary." - Chris Buck

"Ideas for series work usually comes out of not getting work and being desperate for an idea so I can drum up interest. When I'm doing badly, that’s when the best ideas come. Cause I really need it." - Chris Buck

"That is his office [that's] adjacent to his home in Los Angeles. It’s funny because people will say, 'Oh it’s so David Lynch!' I’m like, 'Well, it’s because it’s his space.'" - Chris Buck

"People are eventually going to pass away and that’s going to be really weird too. That there’s this picture of them, and in a way their aura will be in the picture but you can’t see them, much like they’ll be in the world." - Chris Buck

"With Russell Brand, who’s the cover, I did him just for the book, so I had never done a proper portrait of him, and I think that’s kind of awesome." - Chris Buck

"In a way I’ve always wanted to make pictures of celebrities that were different than [how] you typically saw them. Some photographers, their aim is to make the iconic picture of that person. But, that’s not really my aim. I’m hoping to do something that is different than you’ve ever seen of that person." - Chris Buck

"I don’t say where anyone is. I will say this, in most cases people are hiding in the most obvious place. It’s not meant to be a kind of clever – well it’s clever – but not clever in the sense of being like, 'We hid them in the most discreet place you’d never guess.'" - Chris Buck

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