Jolie-Pitt Photos are a Study in Nonchalance
Experts: Casual People magazine spread probably required a lot of labor.
Aug. 10, 2008— -- In a business in which image is everything, matching sweater sets just won't do — especially if you're a featured face in the Jolie-Pitt family album.
The 19-page photo spread in this week's "People" magazine introduced the world to Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Léon, the twins born to much fanfare on July 12 to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt.
The images, which "People" would not release for publication, depict a seemingly casual day at Jolie and Pitt's French chateau, without the formality found in other celebrity baby photo spreads. The vibe is of a family slumber party; the photos range from the parents with their newborns to one-on-one sibling shots to all eight sets of arms and legs tangled on a fluffy bed.
But "don't let that fool you," says Howard Bragman, a Hollywood publicist and author of the upcoming book "Where's My Fifteen Minutes?". "I think it's what we would call 'studied casual,' which is the hardest thing to create."
Jolie, 33, and Pitt, 44, who said they plan to donate the many millions they received for the photos to charity, aren't trying "to flaunt their wealth, but their family and their beliefs in adoption and diversity," Bragman says.
Bragman likens the photos to Benetton's clothing ads, which used models of different ethnicities.
Robert Verdi, a celebrity stylist and television personality, agrees. "I really look at it as the reality of the Benetton campaigns," he says. "It's such a nice reflection of the idea of multicultures … and it's evidence that Hollywood's royal family is a diverse one."
The photos include siblings Maddox, 7, from Cambodia, Pax, 4, from Vietnam, Zahara, 3, from Ethiopia, and Shiloh, 2. Taking good photos of kids is no easy feat, Verdi notes. "You can't control four children, no matter how many millions you're getting paid," he says.
Although the photos may seem as if the children had just run in from playing in the yard, Bragman has no doubt that multiple stylists were on hand to create the perfect look. Both "People" magazine and Getty Images, which handled the photography, declined to comment on the shoot.
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