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Photojournalism alumnus Brian Smith, BJ '81, says it's a
huge honor for his photo of Pope John Paul II to have been
chosen for the cover of Newsweek magazine. Image
courtesy of Brian Smith
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Journalism
Graduate Lands
Cover of Newsweek
By Jessica Pollard
Following the recent death of Pope John Paul II, followers of the Catholic faith have mourned the loss of their faithful leader through stories and pictures presented in the media. This experience literally hit home for one MU graduate, as one of his pictures of the late Pope landed the cover of Newsweek magazine's Pope John Paul II Commemorative Issue.
Brian Smith, a 1981 graduate from MU's School of Journalism, has his claim to fame from his inspiring photograph that Newsweek used for its April 11 issue. Although his photographs have appeared on the covers of more than 100 magazines, Smith said this one is very special.
“Considering the millions of photographs that have been taken over the years of the Pope, it's a rare and overwhelming honor for Newsweek to choose one of mine,” Smith said.
Smith's Newsweek photograph was taken
in Miami during the first stop of the Pope's 1987 U.S. tour. He
and a Newsweek photographer were allowed on the podium
during the papal mass.
Smith poses for a self-portrait while on assignment in Morocco.
He has been creating images for magazines, corporations
and advertising for the past 25 years. His first magazine
photograph appeared as a full page in Life magazine
when he was a 20-year-old college student. Five years later,
Smith won the Pulitzer Prize for his photographs of the
1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Brian Smith photo
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Smith is no stranger to success. His photographs of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, which he took as a newspaper photographer for the Orange County Register, earned him the Pulitzer Prize. He also won first place in World Press Photo and the Pictures of the Year Competition for his picture of Greg Louganis hitting his head on the diving board at the Seoul Olympics. His pictures have appeared in such magazines as ESPN, Vanity Fair, Sports Illustrated and Entertainment Weekly, among others.
While there are always challenges to his job, Smith said working with big-name celebrities and spending time with them is the most rewarding aspect of his career.
“The best part of my job has been meeting all the people that I've shot portraits of over the years,” Smith said. “Spending an hour one-on-one with Bill Gates; having seven minutes where Alan Greenspan did what I told him; convincing Donald Trump to change into a hipper suit that my stylist brought for him; having the world's third richest man invite my wife and I to stay for dinner in his home after a shoot; flying in a plane sitting next to the pilot who happened to be John Travolta; What other job gives you those kinds of opportunities?”
Smith currently serves as president of Editorial Photographers, an organization comprised of more than 1,000 magazine and newspaper photographers from around the world.
Smith and his wife, stylist and make-up artist Fazia Ali, just completed the five-year restoration of a 1934 landmark house and studio in Miami Beach, Florida.
To view Smith's award-winning
work, visit his Web site.
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November 15, 2007
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