Annie Leibovitz Has Been Called Out for Her Unflattering Photos of Black Women

Renowned fashion photographer Annie Leibovitz’s name certainly precedes her. It’s synonymous with Vogue, luxury, and high-end fashion, and creative imagery that’s worth a pretty penny. Much of her work has been ingrained in pop culture history, including her epochal magazine covers, where she captured Demi Moore’s pregnancy and one of Yoko Ono and the late John Lennon’s most recreated photo.

While Annie’s photography is critically acclaimed and has won countless awards, somehow, she missed the mark on a particular demographic: Black women. As she continues to expand her craft and photograph some of Hollywood’s biggest names, many of her critics have noticed she’s not very skilled at photographing Black women.

Here’s the rundown of the controversy surrounding the photographer.

Though most photographers have an aesthetic they are known for, it’s safe to say many don’t want to be known for taking unflattering photos. However, such has been the case for Annie, who critics have called out for how she photographs Black women, including Simone Biles, Lupita Nyong’o, Viola Davis, Serena Williams, and Rihanna, making them appear dull, dry, and devoid of moisture. Mind you, several of these women have beauty lines!

The criticism has included Annie being scolded for the unpleasant lighting in the photos, particularly for darker-skinned women like Viola, Simone, and Lupita.

“Guess which one is from Annie Leibovitz?” journalist Ernest Owens wrote on X (formerly Twitter) in 2022. “HINT: It's not the glowing one of Viola Davis being photographed with care, love, and consideration for her beautiful dark skin."

He continued: “It's 2022, and we shouldn't be having this conversation anymore.”

She continued to be criticized online in 2022, when her portrait of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson came under scrutiny for its uninspiring portrayal. People specifically took issue with Annie’s decision to showcase former president Abraham Lincoln’s towering statue in the background, suggesting that it overshadowed Ketanji’s significance in the photograph. Then, in 2024, her work on Zendaya sparked more controversy when it appeared significantly darker and washed out.

Annie hasn’t exactly addressed the controversy behind her photos. However, according to The Los Angeles Times, while promoting her 2025 two-book set, Annie Leibovitz: Women, she spoke on her experience photographing Ketanji, stating she was “skeptical about the idea” of the shoot, though she was proud of how it turned out.

“She walked into the rotunda, and she started reading Lincoln’s words that are engraved into the wall,” Annie recalled. “It was such a moving moment.”

Despite the famed photographer choosing to let her art do the talking, she has received praise from Black women for how she captured them. Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote an essay in Volume 2 of Annie’s photography book, saying she had a positive experience during her maternity shoot with Annie.

“The first time Annie photographed me, more than ten years ago at my home, she sensed my discomfort right away and knew it was not merely about my general awkwardness with being photographed,” Chimamanda remembered. “It was specifically about my belly, which was newly postpartum, although I would probably still have worried even if it wasn't. … Annie’s sanguine reaction was a relief. There was no divisiveness, no judgment.”