Tyler Shields

Tyler Shields is an American photographer, film director, and writer, best known for his controversial subject matter and shock-evoking images.

Born in 1982 in Jacksonville, Florida, Shields competed professionally as an inline skater, directed music videos and toured with skateboarding Icon Tony Hawk before pursuing a career in photography. Initially releasing his images on MySpace, he was soon exhibiting in galleries and making a name for himself as a ‘celebrity shock photographer’. He is now known as ‘Hollywood’s favourite photographer”.

Shields’ images play with notions of the gaze, power structures, hyper-realism and cinematographic practice. He doesn’t give a second thought to setting alight a Rolls Royce or destroying a Hermés Birkin in order to achieve the perfect shot. His work often includes images of violence or danger, such as the controversial blood-stained series of Lindsay Lohan or his 2017 photograph of Kathy Griffin holding a ‘bloody head resembling’ Donald Trump, which caused an outcry and was denounced by Trump.

In addition to his Fine Art photographs, he has shot campaigns for brands like Nike, Adidas, Playboy, Harley Davidson, and Gergé Swiss watches, among others.

Shields has published several books including ‘The Dirty Side of Glamour’ (2011), ‘The Smartest Man and Provocateur (2017) and in 2014 completed his first feature-length film, Final Girl, all of which were highly successful.