New York photographer covers the famous and homeless

For over three decades, Martin Schoeller has been at the forefront of contemporary portraiture. His signature close-up style scrutinises faces with an almost forensic intensity, capturing both the powerful and the powerless with unfiltered precision – always applying the same style and approach to all.

Speaking at the International Photography Festival (Xposure) 2025, the renowned New York-based photographer offered a candid look at his career, detailing his unconventional beginnings, the artistic ethos driving his work, and the unpredictable, often chaotic, nature of his shoots.

Schoeller recalled his early financial struggles admitting, “I was broke. I had no money”. Desperate for work, he embedded himself with the Newark police department, bluffing his way into their confidence. “I told the press secretary I was working for a German magazine on a piece about police work in the United States. He never checked my credentials and just said, ‘Okay, I have these two detectives you can hang out with.’”

His big break came in 1998 when Time Out New York commissioned him to photograph Vanessa Redgrave. Over the years, Schoeller has captured an estimated 3,000 close-up portraits. The breadth of his subjects is staggering: celebrities, world leaders, athletes, the homeless, death row exonerees, and Holocaust survivors. He has consistently pushed the boundaries of portraiture, blending conceptual elements with his journalistic instincts.

A favourite example was his 2003 portrait of Quentin Tarantino, taken at the height of Kill Bill’s notoriety. Another classic was his portrait of Tony Hawk, in which the legendary skateboarder leaps off his own kitchen counter with his wife and two children sharing the frame. “He wanted to be photographed in a skate park,” Schoeller admitted. “I told his wife, ‘It’ll make a great Christmas card.’ So she made him do it,” he remarked jokingly.

Schoeller has not only documented the famous but also shed light on the overlooked.

One of his most personal projects involved photographing and interviewing over 300 homeless individuals in Los Angeles. “I set up my studio next to a food truck run by a friend’s father,” he said. “Because people trusted him, they trusted me.”

A particularly poignant encounter came when he photographed a young runaway named Frisk. “His mother contacted me after seeing his portrait on Instagram. With the help of other homeless people, we found him, and he ended up moving back home. Out of 300 stories, that was the one happy ending.”

Schoeller’s commitment to social issues extends to his work with Witness to Innocence, an organisation supporting death row exonerees. His multi-year project capturing the harrowing experiences of exonerated individuals culminated in an exhibition, a National Geographic feature, and a museum show. “It took me two years to gain the trust (of the editors). At first, they thought my portraits looked like mugshots, not something they wanted to be remembered by.”

The 'hardest part'

Despite the changing landscape of editorial photography, Schoeller remains steadfast in his approach. “Advertising jobs pay the bills, which lets me fund personal projects where I can lose money,” he quipped. “But the hardest part? Coming up with an idea that makes sense and convincing someone famous to do it. You don’t see the failures. But for every 10 ideas, I’m lucky if three or four happen.”

As he wrapped up his talk, Schoeller reflected on his body of work with characteristic candour. “Sometimes you succeed, sometimes you don’t. But if you’re taking pictures for yourself first, not just for the subject, then you’re on the right track.”

His portraits — whether of A-listers or the forgotten — continue to resonate because they strip away artifice, leaving only the subject and their story. For Martin Schoeller, that’s all that has ever mattered.

This is one of the many talks at Xposure this year, where the visitors are not only getting an opportunity to immerse themselves in the brilliant photography but also interact closely with the creative geniuses behind the lens.

Xposure 2025 is a free-to-attend event and will run until February 26 at Aljada, Sharjah. For more details on the programmes, workshops, exhibitions, visit: www.xposure.net.