Dave Benett’s best photograph: Princess Diana and Liza Minnelli at a film premiere after-party
|
Version 0 of 1. By 1991, Diana really was the diamond in the crown of English society. Whenever she did anything, there was a buzz. This was taken after the premiere of the film Stepping Out. I’d been asked by the children’s charity NSPCC to photograph the after-party, though no one expected Diana to be there. She rarely went to after-parties – but she had a great relationship with Liza Minnelli, the star of Stepping Out. I was in the Langham hotel, waiting in the ballroom, and suddenly there was all this fuss in the street outside – flash, flash, flash – and in came Diana with Liza. Of course, that put a lot of pressure on me to get the picture, because it was so rare for her to come to a non-official event. I was told I had 10 seconds with her. By this stage in my career as a celebrity photographer, Diana already knew me. She called me Mr Benett. I’d photographed her at parties, and she knew she could trust me to get a picture then leave her alone. That was the thing: I didn’t specialise in royals. I wouldn’t go trying to find the places she was at – I only photographed her when she came into my world. I like the image because, for just one second, her barriers are down. She’s just a young woman giggling with a girlfriend at a table at a party. Liza has had her own troubles, but this was a period on the rollercoaster of her life when she was quite up. They were both quite vulnerable people. I started out in 1977 at a news agency. The IRA were prominent then, so I did the Chelsea Barracks bomb and various other hard news stories, crossing into showbiz and the early days of paparazzi in 1984. I realised early that if I wanted any longevity, the relationship between me and the stars was more important than the pictures. It’s all very well being the best photographer in the world, but if you’re outside the party and I’m inside, who’s going to get the best picture? Now I’m more likely to help someone home than photograph them drunk, especially with the girls. You don’t have a relationship with Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Sienna Miller if they don’t feel they can trust you. I’ve seen so many people at so many different stages. I saw George Best when he was still playing, then was with him during his drink troubles. A newspaper once asked me to go and photograph him collapsed in an alleyway next to a nightclub. They’d been tipped off he was there. I wasn’t going to photograph my hero in that position, though, so I made sure I got there too late for that job. There’s a nice new young generation coming through. Guys like Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch and Jamie Dornan: they all met me when they were young and starting out. I’m getting on now – I’m 57 – so I am a bit like an uncle to younger stars. I heard a great story the other day: apparently, when Eddie feels nervous on a red carpet, he just thinks of me. CV Born: Mauritius, 1958. Studied: City & Guilds in photography at Paddington Technical College in London (“I never finished it though. I was already working too much”) Career high: “Being chosen to photograph Nelson Mandela at his home in Capetown for his 46664 charity.” Career low: “Being at Diana’s funeral and watching the boys walk past with Charles.” Top tip: “Don’t ever think you’ve missed your chance because you didn’t take an opportunity. A break’s not a break unless you’re ready for it.” |