You won’t remember me but I just wanted to say I am so sorry about a photo I took of you that I am pretty sure you would not have liked.
It was back in the mid 1990s and I was one of those hundreds of photographers that used to wait for you to turn up at a fundraiser event or a Royal Variety Performance.
We would all be in our enclosure and when you did arrive we would all call out your name to try to get you to look our way, and when you did, you would be struck by a thousand flashes of light and then you would be gone.
We would do it all again when you came back out to leave.
This night, as usual, my photos of you looked impersonal and, of course, exactly the same as all the others.
But it was YOU, and we all rushed our pictures back to our newspapers or agencies to publish (no internet or email in the old film days so I took the Tube).
My picture editor came to see me soon after to let me know that one of my pictures of you was going to be ‘syndicated’.
I had to ask what that meant and he said my photo would be sent immediately, with a story, to publishers in 25 different countries around the world for use in magazines and newspapers.
I was amazed and of course asked which picture they would use.
He showed me this pic…
and this article to go with it…
The Thigh’s The Limit For Princess Di
Princess Diana shows a glimpse of glamorous thigh as she steps into a limousine after a charity dinner.
The Princess of Wales had just attended a posh fund raiser for an old people’s charity held at the prestigious Hilton Hotel in London.
As she stepped into her chauffeur driven car, her dress rode up to give photographers a sight of sexy leg.
Dreadful! Isn’t it?
I can laugh about it now but can only say that I am sorry about this.
It’s just a bad photo in every way but especially in the way it was used.
I want you to know that I will never let my photos be misused in this way again.
It’s very important to me that when I photograph people now, I show them at their best.
I often look at these photos of you taken by your friend Mario Testino and wish I had taken them.
You look so happy and relaxed.
You must have liked and trusted Mario to let your guard down like that and let him see the real you.
They are beautiful, wonderful pics of you.
Anyway, just letting you know I don’t do the media pack any more.
I work alone as a photographer but always with people and keep one of your pics (one of Mario’s here -not mine) to guide me.
I look for moments of vibrance, love and laughter in people.
I make pictures of that.
I know you’re not around anymore but I’m hoping you’ll still get this.
