Michel Comte

Michel Comte was born in 1954 in Zurich, Switzerland. The professionally trained art restorer approached photography auto didactically. In 1978 Michel receives his first international assignments: advertising photographs for the fashion houses of Ungaro and Chloe.

1979 Michel moves to Paris and 1981 to the US. Michel takes up residence in L.A. and permanently works for Vanity Fair and American Vogue. He portrays numerous celebrities from the world of art, movies and entertainment, ranging from Julian Schnabel, Jeremy Irons, Demi Moore, Sharon Stone, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Carl Lewis to Mike Tyson.

Recently Michel photographed Adrien Brody, Brittany Murphy, Lucy Liu, Uma Thurman, Sean Penn, Ethan Hawk, Christian Slater and Jennifer Lopez, among others.

In 2003 Michel Comte celebrates his 20th anniversary as contributing photographer to Italian Vogue and L’Uomo Vogue.

Michel continues to work for clients such Gianfranco Ferre, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani, Versace, Revlon, Mercedes, Ferrari and Lancome. Other recent campaigns include Bluemarine, Trussardi, Malo, Alessandro Del Acqua and all Cerruti brands as well as a fall 2005 launch of Jaguar print ads and television spots directed by Mr. Comte.  Michel has also conceived and directed his own short film, Shared Waters, to coincide in the charitable endeavors to increase the availability of potable water in under developed countries.  During 2006 Michel has added to his filmography a second installment of Jaguar commercials, Maurice Lacroix Watches featuring Roger Federer as well as several spots for Swiss TV and the Red Cross.  Currently Mr. Comte is in pre-production for his debut feature.

His photographs can still frequently be seen in American Vogue, Italian Vogue, L’Uomo and Vanity Fair.

In addition to portraits and fashion photography, Michel has also increasingly moved toward photo-reportage. On photo assignments for the International Red Cross, for instance, he has traveled to war zones and unstable areas in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia.

Michel has published several books ("20years Michel Comte", "Aiko T.", "People and Places with No Name" and "Schumacher"). Michel also edited "Charlie Chaplin – A Photo Diary".

For more information on Michel Comte, please visit the Büro Albers website.