Steven Paul Whitsitt (born October 25, 1960) is an American

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

, and

fashion Fashion is a term used interchangeably to describe the creation of clothing, footwear, Fashion accessory, accessories, cosmetics, and jewellery of different cultural aesthetics and their mix and match into Clothing, outfits that depict distinct ...

photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who uses a camera to make photographs. Duties and types of photograp ...

. He was

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

’s personal photographer from 1994 to 1996, during the

HIStory History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

period

Early life

Born in

Port Huron, Michigan Port Huron is a city in and seat of government of St. Clair County, Michigan, United States. The population was 28,983 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered on the west by Port Huron Township, but the two are administered autonomously. Po ...

. on October 25th, 1960, Steven Paul Whitsitt is the third of four children of Sally Rae Whitsitt (Hocket) and Paul Arthur Whitsitt. He enlisted in the US Navy in April of 1981 and was stationed in Ventura County, California with the United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Seabees. His interest in photography started in the military, picking it up as a hobby before receiving an honorable discharge in April 1986. After his military discharge, he attended The Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California, and graduated in June of 1990 with a BA in Photographic Illustration

Career

Michael Jackson

While working as an assistant in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1993, another assistant contacted him, requesting he cover for a job they couldn't attend. That job was to assist

’s official photographer at the time, Sam Emerson, during the “

Black or White "Black or White" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on November 11, 1991, as the first single from Jackson's eighth studio album, '' Dangerous'' (1991). Jackson wrote, composed, and produced the track with rec ...

” video. He remained as the photographer's assistant for 3 years, while simultaneously working as a freelance photographer. While working for Jackson, he went to

Neverland Ranch Sycamore Valley Ranch, formerly Neverland Ranch"Neverland Never More"
, by William Etling (author ...

, attended Michael Jackson’s appearance at the 1993 Super Bowl halftime show, worked on Jackson’s music videos, and assisted on the

Dangerous World Tour The ''Dangerous'' World Tour was the second world concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson and was staged to promote his eighth studio album '' Dangerous.'' The tour was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. All profits were donated to various chari ...

. After returning from the tour, Sam Emerson was let go, and he was offered the opportunity to become the head photographer based on the results from a test shoot in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The shoot involved Jackson wearing a military uniform and tassels on his shoulders. Jackson was pleased with the results and hired him as the official photographer. He was the official photographer while Jackson was recording his HIStory album, shooting stills and single covers for the songs “

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...

,” “ Scream,” and “

You Are Not Alone "You Are Not Alone" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his ninth studio album, ''HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I'' (1995). It was released on August 15, 1995, by Epic Records, Epic and Sony Music, Sony, as the second s ...

.” He also covered Jackson’s philanthropy work with hospital visits and with the

Heal the World Foundation The original Heal the World Foundation was a charitable organization founded by singer Michael Jackson in 1992. The foundation's creation was inspired by his charitable eponymous single. Through his foundation, Jackson airlifted 46 tons of suppl ...

. In 2017, Whitsitt appeared as a guest at Kingvention, the annual Michael Jackson fan convention in London, where he exhibited a selection of previously unseen photographs of Jackson from his personal archive.

Charlie Chaplin and the "Smile" single album cover

Jackson always had an affinity toward

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

, and especially his film "

The Kid The Kid or The Kids may refer to: Fictional characters * The kid (''Blood Meridian''), a character in Cormac McCarthy's 1985 novel ''Blood Meridian'' * The Kid (''The Matrix''), a character in the ''Matrix'' film series * The Kid (''The Stand'' ...

." In 1994, Michael wanted to shoot a single cover for the song “

” in the same style as a scene from the movie where

's character sits on a stoop with

Jackie Coogan John Leslie Coogan (October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American actor and comedian who began his film career as a child actor in silent films. Coogan's role in Charlie Chaplin's film ''The Kid (1921 film), The Kid'' (1921) made him one o ...

in a publicity photo. He helped produce the shoot and took the photo used on the album cover. He also shot several close-up portrait shots of Michael while Michael was in the Charlie Chaplin costume. These photos, along with other photos he took, would later be featured in the official Michael Jackson

Opus Opus (: opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera ...

. The Chaplin photos were also featured at the Yuz Museum Shangai's "Charlie Chaplin. A Vision" exhibition in 2018. This is a touring collection established by the Musée de l'Élysée. His photos will become a part of the museum's permanent collection in 2020. In 1996, he was let go during the shooting of

music video, and later moved to North Carolina.

Teaching

After moving to North Carolina, he taught photography at the Carolina Friends School in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, for five years.

Architectural photography

He has worked as a residential and commercial architectural photographer since 2003, and has authored/co-authored 6 books on architectural photography, all published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd.: * Arts & Crafts Houses * Lowcountry Plantations: Georgia & South Carolina * Esherick, Maloof, and Nakashima: Homes of the Master Wood Artisans * Handmade Houses * The Kitchen Guide * Built with Stone: Eight Contemporary Artisans He has received 6

Houzz Houzz is an American website, online community and software for architecture; interior design and decorating; landscape design and home improvement. It was founded in 2009 and is based in Palo Alto, California. History Houzz was founded as an o ...

awards for Best of: Design and Best of: Service from 2014 to 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitsitt, Steven Paul 1960 births People from Port Huron, Michigan Brooks Institute alumni American portrait photographers American architectural photographers American fashion photographers Living people