MICHAEL MULLER
MICHAEL MULLER
“I try to capture the energy of a person being true to themselves. This, I believe, is the essence of a photograph.”
— Michael Muller
Photographer Michael Muller has packed several lifetimes worth of adventure into a mere four decades of life. Raised in Northern California, he spent much of his childhood in Saudi Arabia, where his father, an amateur photographer, oversaw the building of the port city of Jubail.
In his mid-teens and 50 countries later, he began taking photos of professional snowboarding, a passion that quickly became a profession. By 22, Muller had established himself as a leading entertainment and fashion photographer. His celebrity portraits of Joaquin Phoenix, Brad Pitt, Jeff Bridges, Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlett Johansson and hundreds of others have graced the pages and covers of magazines including Vanity Fair, Elle, Rolling Stone, Harper's Bazaar, Flaunt, Filter, Esquire, Interview, and the New York Times Magazine.
He has created iconic images for numerous movie posters, including The Avengers, Inherent Vice, Guardians of The Galaxy, Spiderman, X-men, Hancock, Tower Heist, Iron Man, Captain America, Spring Breakers and numerous other films. Michael has also worked on numerous TV series such as Entourage, 24, Sons of Anarchy, Nip Tuck and Spartacus to name a few. He shot Lil Wayne’s latest album cover, and documented Rihanna for her Unapologetic CD and has been shooting album artwork for most of his career. Michael has created print campaigns for Samsung, Turkish AirSpeedo, Nike, Billabong, Oakley, Range Rover, Dodge, Fila, Von Zipper and IWC watches.
He developed his own iPhone app – Mullerphoto – to help users edit their photos in his iconic style, and will soon launch Photoschool.com, an online photo-teaching site. Along with the App, Michael has also ventured into directing and was signed by RSA, the production company founded by powerhouse directors Ridley Scott and the late Tony Scott. As a director, Muller helmed TV spots for Converse, HBO, Reebok, Starz, Oakley, Cirque Du Soleil, Stance socks and Joaquin Phoenix for PETA. Created original sponsored content featuring Colin Farrell for Flaunt, David Lynch for The New Yorker, Michael Phelps for Speedo, Manny Pacquiao for ESPN, Celine Cousteau for the Glass Is Life campaign. He also recently directed music videos for One Republic and The Moors.
Noted for his close-up underwater shark photography, Michael has spent the last decade inventing and patenting a studio lighting system which he takes underwater to light the sharks in ways never seen until now. This 10+ year effort has led to a coffee table book to be released by Taschen in 2015. Michael has also been working on a documentary film that chronicles the adventure which he is editing at the moment. Michael partnered up with Billabong to launch a “White Mike” clothing line featuring some of his unique shark photos. Proceeds for the clothing line will go to EarthEcho and help to raise awareness of the declining shark populations, a cause that Michael is very passionate about.
Two of Michael’s passions are adventure and charities. In January 2010 he joined a team of climbers including actors Emile Hirsch and Jessica Biel, as well as recording artists Santigold, Lupe Fiasco and Kenna on a trek to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. The goal of the high-profile expedition called Summit on the Summit, was to raise awareness of clean-water issues Worldwide. A film crew from MTV produced a 90-minute documentary on the trip, and Michael documented it with photos that were later published in Outside magazine, among other numerous publications World Wide.
In early 2009, he went on an intense photographic expedition to the Galapagos Islands for Swiss watchmaker IWC with a team from UNESCO and the Charles Darwin Foundation. “We traveled over 1,200 miles aboard a 40-foot vessel,” explains Michael, who shot close to 15,000 images on the seven-day trip. “We would dive four times a day at a very hectic pace and we’re blessed with the presence of every major creature one would hope to see there.” IWC used Michael’s Galapagos photos to introduce its new Aqua timer watch collection. For the last decade Michael has used this one of a kind patented underwater lighting studio to document sharks around the World. In April 2016 Taschen released a nearly 400 page full sized coffee table book of this work titled SHARKS that has already sold over 20,000 copies Worldwide. A documentary film that followed all 34 expeditions is in post production and slated to release sometime in 2018. Michael is currently sponsored by Phaseone and Leica cameras, RED motion cameras, BronColor lighting, IWC watches, and Matuse wetsuits.
Michael is a United Nations Global Advocate which takes him all over the World documenting the variety of programs the UN has in motion including the notable Nothing But Nets program working with Refugees. In January of this year Michael went to Haiti for Sean Penn’s JP/HRO and criss crossed the Country documenting the destruction from both the earthquake and the hurricane that destroyed much of its infrastructure as well as capturing the beauty for an exhibition and book for their gala. He also donated a week of his time for a photo shoot in Africa to be auctioned off that brought in 100,000$ at the gala. Michael was the cofounder of Kids Clicking Kids, which distributes cameras to children in hospitals and encourages them to photograph their world. The program is administered through the nonprofit organization Art of Elysium, “What Kids Clicking Kids encompasses is watching children smile, laugh, and leave their situation behind for a time and create art.” Michael has been of the board of LIFT Los Angeles that is a national organization that helps lift families out of poverty by providing advocates that help them with every aspect of their lives. The biggest passion in his life are the Oceans and all that inhabit it. Michael works closely with several organizations ranging from Wildaid, The Sea Shepard's, Shark Spotters, Oceana, and Earth Eco. Michael was jus tasked to be the visionary for Art Of Elysium gala in 2018 in Los Angeles.
Finally looking ahead to the future, Michael saw VR as an emerging technology that excited him so much he put his second book project with Taschen down to pursue and learn. Michael, partnering with RSA spent the last year criss crossing the planet filming the most amazing underwater wildlife and highlighting many issues our oceans are facing. The VR also led to a collaboration with Andrew Huberman, a top neuroscientist at Stanford University, running the Huberman Lab which is using VR technology to help treat people suffering with PTSD and anxiety. He has officially partnered with IWC Watch company, Patagonia, BlackMagic, Leica, RED, Mares and the series is partnered with Wildaid. The first film from the series premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival as well as the Cannes Marche Du Film in 2018. He is also an Executive Producer on several other entertainment based projects in Virtual Reality. In 2019 Michael was commissioned by Larry Ellison to create two VR films for the Island of Lanai. Michael also created the first of 3 films for the Atlanta Aquarium as well as creating 360 content for the United Nations.
After close to three decades of living, traveling and working in Los Angeles, New York and Paris, Michael calls Los Angeles his home. Michael is happily married with 3 daughters, 3 dogs, 2 cats and a couple of chickens. Michael's unique; signature style speaks for itself. His passion for the art and commerce of photography can easily be felt by simply looking at his pictures.
“When people view my work, I simply want to evoke emotion and let the viewer feel they are, in fact, ALIVE.”
— Michael Muller
Experience more at mullerphoto.com