Jeff, what’s the story behind your number 1 photo?
What’s my favourite picture? That’s a question I’ve never even thought about. I’ve been making pictures for such a long time that there are a lot. Do I have a favourite? I suppose I have a top ten and that probably changes over time.
If I really have to pick one… Do I try and show-off and pick a picture from a big world event? Or a nice portrait of a A-lister or something like that? I’ve made pictures that have been published many times over but even if they’re great pictures I can get bored of them eventually.
This image was taken backstage at an Antonio Berardi show in 1997 at The Brixton Academy. Berardi was a big name at this time and had absolutely everyone in his shows. This particular show included Kate Moss, Helena Christensen, Honor Fraser, Jodie Kidd and Alek Wek, …a who’s who of super models. Making pictures backstage at a show is as important as the catwalk show. It was normally a lot of fun in those days as the same photographers attended. We weren’t exactly friends with the models but they knew us and we knew them and you could chat with them and have a bit of banter.
As I mentioned this was really a big show and would definitely make the newspapers the following day. I thought backstage pictures could be a bit different and sometimes more interesting. I’d made lots of pictures of most of the models but Naomi Campbell was late, in fact very late. This was not unusual as all the models were always late. The shows never ran on time, they’d start an hour or even on occasion two hours late. Naomi Campbell did finally arrive with two minders. She was scheduled to be the first on the catwalk. I needed a backstage picture but also needed to secure my spot for the catwalk show. There were only a few photographers backstage, I’m guessing maybe four or five, and one tv crew. All were politely asking Naomi if there was a chance of a “quick picture”? “In a minute” was her response as she went from hair to make-up. To make matters worse, the two security guys blocked any view of her.
This was not normally how things were. It was usually nice and relaxed, you could take a couple of frames and move on. This particular day I was using a Nikon F3 camera that you could take the prism off the top and look down into it, like a Rolleiflex camera. I stood side-on between these two security guys and tried to guess the distance to her reflection in the mirror. I would have been using 400 asa film with the lens wide open and consequently a very limited depth of field. The shutter speed was probably about 1/60th of a second. I only made two of three frames before rushing off. I couldn’t wait any longer because I needed to get to my spot near the catwalk. The picture was used big in a couple of the broadsheets the following day. If you asked me tomorrow what my favourite photograph is I would probably choose a different picture entirely and have completely different reasons for that choice.
Jeff Moore has been a photographer for over twenty-five years covering major events worldwide and news, politics, the royals, fashion and sport. He now specialises in editorial PR and advertising photography.
Jeff works with many charities & NGOs including ‘Justice4Grenfell’. The image “Street party for those who cannot come” is on permanent display in the V&A museum.
Other clients include Chanel, Burberry, Disney, Land Rover, Selfridges, Apple, Save The Children, Shelter, Comic Relief and Centrepoint to name a few.