Michel Comte (b.1954) is a photographer from Switzerland

Artist Michel Comte was born 1954 in Zurich, Switzerland. The professionally trained art restorer approached photography autodidactically. 1979 Comte received his first international advertising assignment from Karl Lagerfeld for the fashion house of Chloe and moved to Paris.

Work for the American Vogue lead him in 1981 to New York and later on he took residence in Los Angeles. "I have always lived on the edge", Comte states on his restless persona. "If I no longer have a sense of risk I immediately move on. I probably inherited that from my grandfather." (Swiss aviaton pioneer Alfred Comte.)

Within a few years, Michel Comte evolves to one of the most sought-after fashion and magazine photographers in the world. For Vanity Fair and Vogue, he portrays numerous celebrities from the world of art, movies and entertainment, ranking from Julian Schnabel, Jermey Irons and Demi Moore to Mike Tyson and Michael Schumacher.

Comte's advertising clients include famous names such as Armani, Dolce & -Gabbana, Nike, Lancome, Revlon, Ferrari, Jaguar and Mercedes Benz.

In addition to portrait photography and fashion Comte has also increasingly moved towards photo-reportage and docucumentary. On photo assignments for the international Red Cross as well as his own Michel Comte Water Foundation he has travelled war zones and unstable areas in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Sudan and Cambodia.

http://www.michelcomte.org/