Michael Grecco is an award-winning photographer and best-selling author recognized internationally for his high-concept imagery, mastery of lighting and powerful connections with subjects. His extensive body of work encompasses celebrity, fine art, advertising, fashion, portraiture and editorial photography.
Grecco was born in the Bronx and grew up near New York City. He received his first camera at age 12—and went on to study filmmaking and photojournalism at Boston University.
While in college, Grecco began working as a freelance photographer for the Associated Press and later became a staff photographer at the Boston Herald. He also shot the burgeoning music scene for Boston Rock Magazine and radio station WBCN, documenting the city’s “pivotal role in launching the punk rock explosion.” During that same period, he began working for the Picture Group Agency—with his photography appearing in such magazines as Time, Newsweek, Esquire, Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone.
Grecco moved to Los Angeles in the late 1980s. His coverage of the Golden Globes, Emmy Awards and Academy Awards for People magazine led to his career as a celebrity portrait photographer.
Grecco has three grown children and lives in Santa Monica with this wife and two Russian blue cats. In his spare time, he explores neighborhoods and subcultures on his Triumph Bonneville or vintage Ducati, with a favorite camera at the ready.
Punk post punk new wave
Days of Punk, a multimedia exhibition touring museums and galleries around the world.
The centerpiece of the show is a curated collection of photos of punk acts Grecco shot at the beginning of his career while living in Boston. Photos initially appeared in “Punk, Post Punk, New Wave: Onstage, Backstage, In Your Face, 1978–1991 (Abrams Books, 2020).
About michael’s projects
Often referred to as the "Master of Lighting," Grecco is author of two books on the subject.
Lighting and the Dramatic Portrait
The Art of Celebrity and Editorial Photography
The Art of Portrait Photography
Creative Lighting Techniques and Strategies
Grecco’s work is among the permanent collections of art institutions across the United States and featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions globally.
Professional affiliations
Grecco is founder of The American Society for Collective Rights Licensing, a leader in the administration and distribution of collective revenue from around the world for U.S. photographers, illustrators and rights holders of published works. He also is co-founder of Titan Copyright, which aids artists in the recovery of fees from unauthorized use. He has spoken before Congress regarding artists and copyrights.
Grecco was Chairman of the Board for Advertising Photographers of America/Los Angeles and served as National Executive Vice President and Chairman of its Advocacy Committee. Other affiliations: board member of Editorial Photographers, former member of Canon’s Explorers of Light Program, and since 2001, a Hasselblad Master Photographer and Lecturer for the Kodak Mentor program.
