Sophia loren
The Day I Photographed Sophia Loren: A Lesson in Cinematic Portraiture
In the course of a career that has spanned over fifty years and three continents, I’ve had the rare privilege of photographing some of the world’s most iconic figures. But few assignments have stayed with me the way my encounter with legendary movie star, Sophia Loren has. It wasn’t just the high fashion or the celebrity allure, it was the sheer grace and presence of the woman herself that left a lasting imprint on me, both as a photographer and as a person.
It was 1974, and I had been commissioned by The Eye, a weekly fashion feature exclusive to the Daily Express. The assignment? To photograph Sophia Loren for a special double-page fashion spread, featuring fashion creations by Christian Dior. It would be her first such feature in a decade, a coup for the paper and, frankly, a dream job for me.
The shoot was set to take place at the Christian Dior Salon on Avenue Montaigne in Paris, one of the most prestigious addresses in the world of fashion. But just two days before the scheduled shoot, tragedy struck. Sophia Loren’s close friend, the acclaimed Italian director Vittorio De Sica, had suddenly passed away. Understandably, she postponed the shoot to attend his funeral in Rome. I assumed the job might be off altogether. But true to her reputation as a consummate professional, Sophia Loren arrived the very next day, on time and ready to work. Still mourning, no doubt, but composed, elegant, and focused.
Madame Ponti
Despite my excitement, I couldn’t help feeling a twinge of nervousness. I’d heard whispers, stories suggesting she was difficult to work with. Some even joked that “She eats photographers for breakfast.” With that echoing in my mind, I entered the Dior salon early to begin setting up my lights, preparing myself for what could be a high-pressure day.
The room was vast, and to my surprise, full of people, onlookers who clearly had no real purpose being there, other than to be near a movie star. I couldn’t concentrate, and I doubted Sophia would be comfortable with an audience of gawkers. So, with the help of the French-speaking fashion editor, I politely but firmly asked anyone not essential to the shoot to leave the room. The atmosphere immediately shifted, French daggers were flying at me from all directions, via narrowed eyes and whispered protests, but slowly, the room emptied, leaving only the necessary team.
Madame Ponti, (as she preferred to be addressed in acknowledgment of her marriage to film producer Carlo Ponti) approached me with an elegant grace that could only be described as regal. That’s when my first chance came to meet her.
Meeting Sophia
My heart sank for a moment, what if I’d just ejected her friends or entourage? But instead, she smiled and said, “I’m so glad you did that. They were beginning to drive me crazy too.” In that moment, every ounce of tension left my body. The ice had not just broken; it had melted completely. From then on, I felt like I was working with Sophia Loren, not just photographing her.
After make-up and styling were complete for the first shot of the day, she approached me again. But instead of asking the typical question, “What do you want me to do?” She said something that caught me completely off guard…
“Who do you want me to be?” That one question shifted my entire understanding of celebrity portrait photography.
Sophia Loren is a great professional actress asking for a character, a context, a backstory. She wasn’t just another model standing in front of a lens, she didn’t want to ‘pose’, she wanted to be ‘directed’, as in a movie. And suddenly, I realized I had to be her ‘director’, not just a photographer.
Caught somewhat off guard, I quickly improvised a fictional scenario. I painted a picture for her of a woman of mystery, waiting for someone, caught in a moment of decision. She listened intently, nodded slowly, and said simply: “Yes. I’ve got that.” And then she transformed. Right there in front of my lens, Sophia Loren became that woman. Her eyes carried the story, her posture the emotion. The images that emerged weren’t just beautiful, they were alive. That lesson, of creating a ‘backstory’ and letting the subject live within it, has stayed with me ever since. From that day on, I’ve used it with nearly every subject I’ve ever photographed: Why are they there? Where have they been? Where are they going? By creating this illusion, the difference in the depth and sincerity projected by the subject is dramatic, as it is in great movie direction.
The story didn’t end with the photo shoot
As per her agreement with The Daily Express, Sophia Loren had final approval over the images before they could be published. That’s not unusual. Over the years, I’ve come to learn that celebrities, especially actors, must trust the person who’s capturing their image. For them, their face is their identity, their livelihood, their legacy. So the plan was for me to return to London after the shoot, process the film, and send the contact proof sheets back to her in Paris for her approval.
But fate had other ideas. A postal strike in France had brought deliveries to a standstill, and I was asked to stay in Paris, have the film developed locally, and deliver the proof sheets in person. The next day, I found myself standing in the grand, elegant drawing room of Sophia Loren’s Parisian apartment on Avenue George V, just steps from the Champs-Élysées. A maid brought in a tea tray as Sophia entered the room. She greeted me warmly and gestured for me to sit beside her. For what felt like an eternity, she silently studied the proof sheets from our shoot. I sat next to her, nervously sipping tea and considering every choice I had made behind the camera. Then she turned to me, broke into a wide smile, and said she was very happy with the results. Not only did she give her full approval for the photographs to be published, but she also ordered twelve prints for herself. I couldn’t have been more proud.
Back in London, when I walked into the Daily Express picture editor’s office on Fleet Street, I was met with applause. The fashion editor, beamed as she told me that Sophia Loren had personally phoned through her approval. And to top it off, I was given a double fee bonus for what was declared “a job well done.”
That shoot taught me more than just technical lessons or career insights. It taught me that professional photography, at its best, is not about pointing and clicking. It’s about ‘creating’, rather than merely recording an image. It’s about connection. It’s about trust. It’s about telling stories with light and shadow. And from Sophia Loren, I learned that when a subject asks, “Who do you want me to be?”, the photographer must be ready with an answer, not only to capture a moment, but also to direct a scene.
To this day, I consider it to be one of the most profound lessons of my career.
Let's work together
Whether you’re hosting a corporate event, gallery, university, or photography society, David’s talks offer a rare chance to hear from one of Britain’s most accomplished photographers. Audiences leave inspired, informed, and entertained.