It's not often that Sam Emerson sits down for an interview, but inevitably when he does the questions are about his most famous client, Michael Jackson.
In this fascinating interview, Sam Emerson opens up about the beginnings of his career in the early 1970s shooting rock and roll photography, building a career, and going on to photograph for Michael Jackson for a decade. He met the Jacksons when he was on tour with the Osmonds and had an unfortunate moment with no film in his camera. It was later when he covered the behind-the-scenes shots of the Billie Jean music video that led to a decade-long working relationship, where Michael requested that Sam Emerson shoot his tour as he wasn’t happy with the previous photographer.
Emerson was the photographer behind the iconic Bad album artwork which depicted Jackson in the role of tough guy as the concept behind the artwork. Sam Emerson photographed Michael during most of the Bad era, as well as on both the Bad and Dangerous tours.
The interview is 1:35 long, so watch when you have spare time. I watched, or mainly listened, during an editing session, and found this to be a fascinating insight into the relationship between arguably the greatest performer ever to have lived and his photographer.
