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ROBERT WHITMAN RECALLS HIS 1977 PHOTOSHOOT WITH PRINCE

Working Not Working April 27, 2016

ROBERT WHITMAN RECALLS HIS 1977 PHOTOSHOOT WITH PRINCE


Almost forty years ago, WNW Member #8507 Robert Whitman was just getting started as a photographer in his hometown Minneapolis. His friend was a manager for another up-and-coming creative, Prince, who was only 19 at the time and working on his first album. Robert agreed to photograph Prince for a brochure to help get him a record deal. Below are excerpts from Robert's interview with Billboard. Head over to Billboard for the full interview.

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Interview by Billboard's Shannon Adducci

How were you introduced to Prince?

Owen [Husney] came over and said, 'You've got to listen to this.' He had heard this tape, I think it was "Soft and Wet." So we went in the car and drove around, listening to it, and it was just amazing. Owen was managing him and he had a couple of partners, including Gary Levenson. They said, 'We want to make a little brochure on him, to get him a record deal. Would you be willing to shoot him?' I said, 'Sure. I don't know what I'm doing, but I would be happy to.'

How did you conceive the shoot?

It ended up being three different shoots. I had a very small studio in the Kemps Ice Cream building [in Minneapolis]. I had one piece of seamless and a portable flash. We did the first shoot there. And then we did another session in downtown Minneapolis, out of which came one of the most iconic images, of him against a white wall with music notes. The building belonged to the Schmitt Music Company. And then we did another shoot at Owen's home. We shot him with Owen's dog, sitting at a table, playing the piano.

What was he like on set?

He was very, very shy. But he opened up to me and he was willing to play around, willing to try different outfits. I didn't know what I was doing, so I experimented. I put light behind his hair so his Afro was like a halo. We put sequins on him and then I put a scarf on the lens, but it didn't work. We took his shirt off. We had him blowing bubbles. This is all old analogue stuff. But he really opened up and we had some silly moments. He was young and was just starting and so was I.

What do you think of the photos, looking back on them?

They're so bad they're good. There are really some bad shots in there. I have about 17 to 19 rolls of film from that week, but there are only 20 or 21 photos that I've been showing (at exhibitions). There was some really horrible cropping. But there are some great expressions. I think I have some of the only photos of him where he has a smile on his face. 

Did you ever see Prince again?

I had one moment with him many years later, maybe in the early eighties. I was in LaGuardia Airport, on the phone, and all of a sudden Prince walked by and said, 'Whitman, how are you?' I said, 'Fine, great,' and he walked off. And within a second all these kids were asking me if I could get them his autograph. I never saw him again. 


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In INTERVIEWS, WORK Tags Prince, 1977, Photography, Robert Whitman, Photographer, Features, Featured
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