Los Angeles — Photographer Herb Ritts, whose access to celebrities, even at their most fragile moments, gave him an edge in the competitive field, died Thursday of complications of pneumonia, his publicist said. He was 50.

Mr. Ritts, whose pictures helped define the image-conscious 1980s and '90s, died at the University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center, publicist Stephen Huvane said.

Mr. Ritts gained entry to celebrities' lives even when they displayed little glamour. He photographed Christopher Reeve, wired up and immobile in a high-tech wheelchair. In another photograph, Elizabeth Taylor sported a crew cut and the scar resulting from her brain surgery.

Mr. Ritts was born in Los Angeles in 1952, and moved to the East Coast to attend New York's Bard College, where he studied economics. He later returned to California and took a job as a sales representative for his family's furniture business.

Chance and connections propelled Mr. Ritts into the world of celebrity photography in the '70s. He got to know Richard Gere through someone who was dating the actor at the time.

A drive in the desert led to a flat tire and an impromptu photo session in a service station. The result was a photo of a steamy Mr. Gere in a white vest, his arms over his head and a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

At the time, Gere was an unknown. A year later he was a star, and Mr. Ritts' photos were being used as publicity shots.

Mr. Ritts shot celebrities from Madonna to Michelle Pfeiffer to Dizzy Gillespie for top fashion and culture magazines — Interview, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, Elle. He took pictures for album covers and directed music videos.

His work was displayed at studios and museums including the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

In 1991 two of his videos won MTV Awards: best female video, with Janet Jackson, and best male video, with Chris Isaak.

He leaves his mother, Shirley Ritts; a brother, Rory; a sister, Christy; and his partner, Erik Hyman.