Luisa Dörr is not the first photographer to do a magazine cover shoot with her iPhone. But her 12 covers for Time magazine of women changing the world may be the most impressive to date.
Dörr photographed 46 influential women, from Oprah Winfrey and Serena Williams to Hillary Clinton and Selna Gomez, for the magazine, which published a piece called “Firsts,” featuring women who are changing the world.
The 28-year-old Brazilian photographer began using an iPhone in 2012 and it immediately became a “complement” to her equipment. Now, the so-called professional cameras complement her iPhone.
“Suddenly, I was able to make great pictures anytime, anywhere, without the stress of carrying a bag full of lenses, cards, and batteries,” Dörr said in an interview with Time’s online photography feature, LightBox. “You usually see photographs of these women with lots of production and lighting. For me, it is difficult to be inspired by a portrait of someone who seems unreachable.
“For Firsts, the pictures are made with natural light, using only a reflector when necessary. I Like the simplicity of how these pictures are made. But the best part is that as a photographer, you feel extremely light and free. It is almost as if I can make pictures with my hand. There’s no noise, gadgets, tools or plugs – just the subject and myself.”
Photos: Luisa Dörr/Time
Dörr used four different iPhone models over the course of her work, starting with an iPhone 5. She changed to the iPhone 6 and then the 6s Plus and photographed the last 36 subjects with an iPhone 7 when it came out last fall.
No shoot was longer than 20 minutes and the quickest was two minutes (with Janet Yellen on the roof of the Federal Reserve), she said.
Dörr said some shoots presented lighting challenges that reflectors could not overcome. On occasion, she used automatic HDR to gain a greater range of light and details.
Kira Pollack, Time’s director of photography and visual enterprise, had never heard of Dörr when she discovered her work last year scrolling through Instagram. Captivated by the portrait on her Instagram feed, she tracked down Dörr and offered her the assignment.
Others Dörr photographed include Little League pitching sensation Mo’ne Davis, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, soul singer Aretha Franklin, comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, and Minnesota state Rep. Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-American Muslim to win a legislative seat.
Source: Time LightBox
