Neil leifer 2

Neil Leifer
Photo By- Christopher T. Assaf
e- http://darkroom.baltimoresun.com/2013/09/photographer-neil-leifer-images-w

Neil Leifer
• Neil Leifer is a very famous sports photojournalist. Neil also
worked in other areas of photojournalism but is best known
for his work in the sports field. He has taken countless
historical photographs in sports and other areas. He is a very
talented photojournalist. Some of the most famous photos in
sports history were taken by him.Larry Berman said “Neil
Leifer has photographed 15 Olympic Games, 4 World Soccer
Cups, 15 Kentucky Derbies, lots World Series games, the
first 10 Super-bowls and almost every big heavyweight title
fight starting in the 1960’s.” Some people say he was just
very lucky and he just always seemed to be at the right place
at the right time. There are people that think was just lucky
and not that skilled of a photojournalist.

Career Path
• Neil Leifer worked for Sports Illustrated when he first started
in photojournalism. At age 16 he sold images to Sports
Illustrated. He actually had his first cover shot for Sports
Illustrated at age 19. After a while he wanted to branch out
and cover a wider range of things. He decided to go work for
Time Magazine. He also had work published in Saturday
Evening Post, Look, LIFE, and Newsweek. His worked was
published in these publications numerous times. He also
published some of his work later in numerous books that he
created. These books were very successful. He was able to
share lots of his great photographs in his books that were
never published before.

Photo by- Neil Leifer
Image source- http://neilleifer.com/portfolio/julius-erving/?g=134803997
Taken On- 3-9-1997
This is a photo of Julius Erving (Dr.J). He is dunking on the Denver Nuggets at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.
The light in this photo is perfect. The lighting draws your eye to Dr.J while he dunking. The really cool thing
about the lighting is how there is some burst of light behind Dr.J. This burst of light really adds to the photo.
Dr.J’s expression is very intriguing. He looks so focused and intent on dunking the ball. It looks like he is
shutting everyone out and just focusing on the rim. He is not hamming it up for anyone. This is defiantly not a
posed photo as he is in the middle of the game. The focusing of this photo really adds to the image. Dr.J is in
focus and really pops in the photo. The other players and fans are a little blurred. This draws your eye right to
Dr. J. I am a big Dr.J fan and I really enjoy watch clips of him playing. He was such a talented player and this
photo really showcases his highflying ability.

Era
• Neil said in an interview that he “started taking pictures
around1954 or 1955”. Photojournalism was really gaining
traction as a profession when Neil started. He started at a
very young age. Sports photojournalism was starting to
bud as a profession during this time. Neil really was in the
midst of the start of the big boom of sports
photojournalism. During this era boxing was very popular
and capturing the fights with photojournalism was very
big. An example of this is how Muhammad Ali one of the
greatest boxers of all time liked Neil’s work so much he
only liked Neil to photograph him.

Motivation
• Neil had a lot motivation. He grew up on the Lower East Side of
Manhattan. He grew up in a poor and a very tough neighborhood.
His motivation was to get out of that neighborhood and to be
successful. He used photojournalism to do this. He always really
loved sports and photography. When he was young he combined his
to passions. He started going to sporting events and taking photos
while he was there. Neil is quoted saying he “began shooting sports
pictures because it was combining two things that I liked. The idea of
getting the best seat in the house at an event and doing something I
enjoy doing, which was taking pictures, the combination was
perfect.” This was is motivation to to be a photojournalist. He also
said the he liked to see his name in print next to the photos he took.
This motivated him to perfect his craft. He really enjoyed going an
photographing the local teams like the Dodgers baseball team (when
they were in New York).

Image source-http://neilleifer.com/portfolio/vince-lombardi/?g=134803997
Taken On- 1-14-1968
This is a photo of Vince Lomardi. Vince Lombardi had just coached the Packers to victory over the Raiders in the
second ever Superbowl . He is being carried by Jerry Kramer. The main subject of the photo is Vince Lombardi,
he is in the middle of the frame. If Jerry or the other players were left out of the photo it would really detract from
the photo. The photo would not have the same feeling if they were not in the image. Vince is not crowding the
edges of the photo he is perfectly captured in the frame. The use of lines really draw your eye to Vince. The way
he is contorted in the photo and the use of horizontal lines adds to this photo. The contrast is very appropriate.
The top portion of the photo where Vince’s head is light because of the stadium lights. The darker lining of the
clouds really adds to the image. The bottom portion of the photo where Vince’s legs and feet are, is darker which
draws your eye to the top of the photo. The contrast in this photo is perfect and really makes the picture
incredible. While I am not a Packers fan I am a big fan of Vince Lombardi he is one of the best coaches of all time
in all sports in my opinion. The pure happiness on his face and Jerry’s face adds so much character to the image.

Technology
• When Neil first started taking photos at age 13 he could not afford a camera. He was
lucky enough to go to a community center that was able to provide them with cameras.
These cameras were all donated. This camera and film that was given to him helped him
to realize his passion. Neil talks about how around 1958 he had a “Yashica Mat, the
poor man’s Rolliflex, and shot a few pictures.” Neil also used something called strip
photography in the 1970’s to photograph athletes. Matt Christopher said strip
photography is a “technique is a photographic and cinematographic process where a
moveable slide, into which a strip has been cut, is inserted between the camera and the
subject to be photographed.” Another example of an interesting turn of events with
technology is when Neil photographed the Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston boxing match.
He was one of two photographers to have color film in his camera when Ali knocked
Sonny out. That photo became one of the best sports photos ever taken. It is a lot easier
now for photojournalists to get great close photographs. It is amazing that Neil was able
to get the amazing photos he did. Sports photography was heard because people were
constantly moving and it was not as easy as it is today to get great action snapshots. Neil
did a fantastic job of doing this with the little technology he had. It just goes to show that
a great camera is not everything, you have to have an eye and a special talent to get the
pictures he got.

Ethics
• Everyone faces ethical dilemmas. Neil was not exempt from this he
too has faced ethical dilemmas. He covered many different types of
events and I am sure faced many ethical dilemmas. He covered
wars, athletics, politics and many other things. One example is
when he photographed the Ali vs Williams fight. He photographed
Williams laying on the ground after being knocked out. Ethically that
can be a bit of a dilemma because he is photographing a man who
has just been knocked out. As I said before he photographed wars
as well which is very tough ethically. This is because it is hard to
know what is ethically okay to photograph. I have looked at a
number of Neil’s photos and no of them appear to me that any of
his original photos were tampered with. They all look very real and
un-doctored to me and that is conformed by my research.

Bias
• Every photojournalist has biases. We all actually have biases.
One bias that he might have had was that he was pretty close
to Muhammad Ali. He might have tried to photograph Ali only
in a good way because they were friendly. It would have been
easy for Neil to take photos of Ali that made him look really
good. It also would have been easy to take photos of Ali that
would have affected his image. Neil never did that he only got
photos of Ali that were pretty much good for Ali’s image for
the most part. Since Neil was from New York it would have
been easy for him to have a bias towards the New York
based teams. As I said before everyone has biases whether
we know it or not. Neil most likely has biases that he does not
even know that he has.

Image source-http://neilleifer.com/portfolio/ali-williams-overhead/?g=134803997
Taken On- 11-14-1966
This is a photo of Muhammad Ali knocking out Cleveland Williams. The use of shadows in the photo are really
neat. The shadow of Ali raising his hands in victory is very cool. Also on the other end you see the shadow of the
referee waiving his hands to stop the fight. This is a very simple photo. It is basically just of Ali standing up and
Williams on the ground. The simplicity really makes the image so good. The white floor of the ring adds a shinny
texture to the image. It really makes the people around the ring and the boxers really stand out. The shiny floor
draws your eye to ring immediately. The exposure time of this photo is perfect. It was a fast shutter speed to
capture all of these peoples movements in the photo at the perfect time. It is perfectly clear and not blurry at all.
The fast shutter speed caught Ali , the referee and Williams at the exact perfect time. I really enjoy boxing a lot
and I have actually watched this fight a few times. This is a great image.

Impact
• Neil had so many great photos that affected society. His
photos told a unique story. He always seemed to capture
the best moments. A great example of his impact is one
photo he took captured millions of peoples attention. One
of perhaps his greatest photos and arguably one of the
best sports photos of all time is a photo he took of
Muhammad Ali. He captured Ali standing over Sonny
Liston after he knocked him out. This photo spoke to a lot
of people because of how powerful it is. The photo spoke
to a lot of people about how hard work pays off. He
changed the way that sports photojournalism was done.
He impacted the entire industry with his will and tenacity.

Sports Management
• I chose Neil Leifer because he is such a big part in
documenting sports over the years. He has taken some of
the most famous photos in the sports world. Since I one day
want to work in the sports industry this really caught my
attention. I want to be a sports agent. I realized that these
photos helped tremendously with marketing athletes and
what it did for there careers. It also did not hurt that one of
my favorite photos of all time is the photo he took of Ali
standing over Sonny Liston. I can only imagine the field day
that Ali’s agent and manager had with that photo. That photo
is and was everywhere there client was all over the world
and on every front page. Sports photojournalists play a giant
role in the sports world.

Viewpoints
• Some people see Neil as a great photojournalism. Others say that
he has just been very lucky. Some see him as having a great and
powerful impact on photojournalism, especially in sports
photojournalism. He also has his detractors. Neil has branched off
and done things in video and has received a lot of criticism for his
work that area. Some people say that he should have stuck with
sports photojournalism and should not have branched out. He
cover many things sports and not sports related in his vast career.
There are always going to be people that say he was just in the
right time in the right place. While Sports Illustrated called him
“one of the best in the business”. There were also people who did
not condone boxing and did not like the boxing photos he took.
They thought that it promoted violence.

Image Source- http://neilleifer.com/portfolio/muhammad-ali-vs-sonny-liston-1965-world-heavyweight-title-2/?g=134803997
Taken On- 5-25-1965
This is a photo Muhammad Ali famously knocking Sonny Liston out. I spoke about this photo numerous time in my p

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