Joseph-Llanes-1

LASTING IMPRESSIONS

Photographer Joseph Llanes deftly captures essence, spirit and beauty

Art and music figured prominently as factors that propelled Joseph Llanes toward a career in photography. Relocating from Mexico to the U.S. at 12, Llanes was fascinated by the images on album covers owned by his older stepbrothers. After graduating from college, the L.A.-based lensman went on to work with a myriad of entertainers from Coldplay, Lenny Kravitz and Jeff Bridges to Jennifer Hudson, Conan O’Brien and Sara Bareilles (above, during a 2010 session). “Getting to do this every day is incredible,” says Llanes. The following pages offer a sampling of his work—for more, go to josephllanes.com.

RIHANNA, 2010 Rihanna was in a Beverly Hills studio getting ready for an AOL Sessions performance. She walked in, said hello, and right away asked what I needed. I said, “Look here, give me lots of presence.” In two minutes the session was complete.

RIHANNA, 2010
Rihanna was in a Beverly Hills studio getting ready for an AOL Sessions performance. She walked in, said hello, and right away asked what I needed. I said, “Look here, give me lots of presence.” In two minutes the session was complete.

 

KATY PERRY, 2012 This was shot in Hollywood when Katy’s Part of Me documentary was released. Fans were on a rooftop screaming. She looked up and gave them a smile and a wave. Notice the carpet’s pink, not red. Katy always does things a bit differently.

KATY PERRY, 2012
This was shot in Hollywood when Katy’s Part of Me documentary was released. Fans were on a rooftop screaming. She looked up and gave them a smile and a wave. Notice the carpet’s pink, not red. Katy always does things a bit differently.

 

LISA MARIE PRESLEY, 2012 Lisa Marie was relaxing in her dressing room prior to a show at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. There’s something incredibly iconic about her. She’s looking down at the set list. I love the image of the female country singers in the background.

LISA MARIE PRESLEY, 2012
Lisa Marie was relaxing in her dressing room prior to a show at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. There’s something incredibly iconic about her. She’s looking down at the set list. I love the image of the female country singers in the background.

 

Shakira, 2012 Shakira was in L.A. getting ready to perform at an awards show. She’s in her dressing room, applying her lipstick. There’s one thing you notice around Shakira—everyone adores her, from her makeup team to her hair stylist to her security.

Shakira, 2012
Shakira was in L.A. getting ready to perform at an awards show. She’s in her dressing room, applying her lipstick. There’s one thing you notice around Shakira—everyone adores her, from her makeup team to her hair stylist to her security.

 

Janelle Monáe, 2014 Janelle was in the studio of the iHeartRadio Theater in Burbank. She just started giving me these fun hand-jive motions. She’s so animated, almost like a cartoon character sometimes. Her ideas carry as much weight as anything I bring to the table.

Janelle Monáe, 2014
Janelle was in the studio of the iHeartRadio Theater in Burbank. She just started giving me these fun hand-jive motions. She’s so animated, almost like a cartoon character sometimes. Her ideas carry as much weight as anything I bring to the table.

 

Erykah Badu, 2011 Erykah was performing at Coachella in Palm Springs, Calif. I walked into her dressing room and was instantly transported to Erykah Badu-land. She had me put down my cameras for some tea. Everything about this shot screams her personality.

Erykah Badu, 2011
Erykah was performing at Coachella in Palm Springs, Calif. I walked into her dressing room and was instantly transported to Erykah Badu-land. She had me put down my cameras for some tea. Everything about this shot screams her personality.

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