Michael Muller

About

About Show Reel Virtual reality Films COMPANY REEL

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. Michael Muller then quickly established himself as a leading entertainment and fashion photographer and director. His celebrity portraits and campaigns with the likes 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, billboards big screen. Publications include Vanity Fair, Elle, Rolling Stone, Harper's Bazaar, Flaunt, Filter, Esquire, Interview, and the New York Times Magazine, as well as campaigns for Aston Martin, Marvel and Dita Eye Wear.

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 created campaigns for Samsung, Turkish AirSpeedo, Nike, Aston Martin, Billabong, Oakley and Range Rover to name a few.

Noted for his close-up underwater cinemaphotography, Michael has spent the last decade inventing and patenting a studio lighting system which he takes underwater to light the ocean life in ways never seen until now.

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.

Michael is a United Nations Global Advocate which takes him all over the world documenting the variety of programs the UN has in motion from their Nothing But Nets program to their work with refugees. Michael is 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, 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 Wild Aid The Sea Shepherds, Shark Spotters, Oceana, and Earth Eco. Michael was just 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 went out and made an underwater sizzle with Great White sharks and within 2 months, he not only raised the funding needed but helped create the only camera system in the world that can shoot underwater in 4K stereoscopic. Partnering with RSA, Michael spent a year criss-crossing the planet filming the most amazing wildlife, all while collaborating with Stanford University using VR technology to help people with PTSD and anxiety.

Into the Now which was the first film from his VR series premiered at both the Tribeca Film Festival and Festival de Cannes in 2018. He is also an Executive Producer on several other entertainment based projects in Virtual Reality. Michael was also chosen as the Visionary for the 2019 Art of Elysium HEAVEN gala.

After close to three decades of living, traveling and working in Los Angeles, New York and Paris, Michael calls Los Angeles home. He 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.”