Michael Lavine is a portrait and entertainment photographer based in New York City. Renowned for his visually dynamic sensibility and keen attention to formal composition, Michael has been making iconic photographs of celebrities with his unique, dramatic style for 25 years.
His photographs of luminaries such as Kurt Cobain, Jay-Z, Cher, Keith Richards, Tilda Swinton and Brian Cranston have graced magazine and album covers around the world. Michael works extensively in the Network Television industry, shooting advertising campaigns for shows such as Empire, The Following, 24, Fringe and The X-Files. As one of the leading photographers in the Hip Hop world, Michael has shot album covers for artists such as Notorious B.I.G, Puffy, Lil’ Kim, and The Wu Tang.
In fine art, Lavine has had three shows at Team Gallery in Chelsea, exhibiting a series of artist portraits including Elizabeth Peyton, Karen Kilimnick and John Currin. In 1996 Simon & Schuster published “Noise from the Underground” a book of Michael’s photographs of indie rock bands; including Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Soundgarden, Pavement, and Dinosaur Jr. In 2009, Abrams published “GRUNGE” a book of Michael’s photographs documenting the Seattle punk scene of the 80’s.