Michael Grecco

The Cramps, lead guitarist Poison Ivy

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.