What It Was Like to Be Prince’s Personal Photographer

The lensman behind Sign o’ the Times talks about some of his most iconic Prince shots.
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All photos by Jeff Katz

In 1985, Prince was, as usual, exceptionally busy. Along with dreaming up new solo records and androgynous alter egos, he was figuring out the visuals for the debut album by a new funk band he had put together called the Family. Prince wanted some playful shots to counter the album’s formal black-and-white cover, and Jeff Katz, a then-25-year-old rookie photographer for Warner Bros. Records, was called in to assist. “Initially, I just set up the camera, composed the shot, and Prince would push the button,” Katz remembers over the phone. “After about an hour of that, he said, ‘You seem to know what you’re doing, why don’t you just go ahead for the rest of the day?’”

Two months later, Katz was asked to be Prince’s personal photographer for Under the Cherry Moon, a movie the superstar was filming in Nice, France. “It was like, how fast can you say yes!” Katz recalls. Within 10 minutes of their first shoot there, Katz captured the dramatic portrait that would become the cover of the Cherry Moon soundtrack, 1986’s Parade. For the next decade, Katz served as Prince’s exclusive photographer and was entrusted with everything from intimate portrait sessions to documenting the biggest dates on his globe-trotting tours.

One of the pair’s most memorable collaborations was for the 1987 double album Sign o’ the Times. Featuring a drum set atop a Pontiac Grand Prix, piles of bouquets, a glowing plasma globe, an abandoned guitar, and only a blurry snippet of Prince’s face, the record’s iconic cover is as eclectic and vivid as the music inside. With an expanded new Sign o’ the Times reissue out this week, Katz spoke to us about creating the cover image as well as other stunning photographs from that era.

The original (left) and reissue (right) covers for Sign o’ the Times

Pitchfork: How did the cover of Sign o’ the Times happen?

Jeff Katz: He called me up to come take his picture. I didn’t ask what it was for or what the look was. It was the first time I had ever been to Minneapolis. [Prince’s production compound] Paisley Park was in its final stages of completion, so he was in this warehouse rehearsal space nearby. When I walked in, there was only the drum kit on top of the car. Prince said, “We’re going to have to fill this space,” and then he walked away. He didn’t usually like to explain things. I often had to be a mind reader. He wanted you to understand, and then he wanted you to go with it.

Slowly but surely, his team pilfered items and props that had been inspiring him from the recording studio and his house. It was almost like a canvas being painted in real time. The final touch was the backdrop. [Prince’s executive assistant] Karen Krattinger went down to the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre where they were doing a performance of Guys and Dolls and got that backdrop. When Prince came back, he just nodded and smiled.

After two nonstop days of shooting, he sat down on the apple box that was in front of my camera, put his face up against the lens, and said, “Take this picture.” I told him that there was no light on him and he was out of focus and would have to sit very still for the exposure and he said, “OK.” After I took two photos, he said, “Great, that’s the cover.” Warner Bros. laughed when I brought it to them. He was so meticulous and careful in his thought process, music, and visuals, but he was also willing to go to this very loose, surreal, conceptual place.

The cover of the reissue is another photo from that shoot. How did that double-exposure come to be?

I took that photo before the shoot even started. I was setting up everything, and Prince walked in. I wasn’t ready yet, but you don’t ever say that! When Prince wants to shoot, you just start shooting. There was only ambient light, and I asked him to stand still. I think that was a 16-second exposure, and after eight seconds, he walked away. We were shooting on film, so I didn’t see how the photo turned out until it was processed. Talk about a lucky accident, or maybe it was predestined. I went nuts when I saw it, and I lobbied for that one as the cover. Prince said, “Well, I really love it, but keep it for something else.”

What made Prince such a compelling subject?

When I wasn’t shooting Prince, I was photographing every single ’80s hair band, like Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, and Ozzy Osbourne. And a lot of musicians that have their shtick basically look the same at age 20 and 85. But Prince was a chameleon. When he would switch eras, he would literally change everything, from his wardrobe to the way his rooms were decorated. As an artist, I couldn’t ask for anything more. He would show up at a photo shoot wearing what you would think was the stage outfit, and that would be his street clothing. There was no difference. Most artists have a stage persona, but he was looking like that in his house when no one else was around.

What’s the story behind the amazing shots of him in that fuzzy coat?

This photo is from the first photo session at Paisley Park. After the Sign o’ the Times cover shoot, I came back to do some portraits of him and the band. It was the first time I was ever in Paisley Park; it had that new car smell.

Did he style himself in these instances?

He had people that implemented his vision. Paisley Park was like Santa’s workshop. There was an entire wardrobe department with people constantly making new clothes, there was a soundstage, and the recording studios. He had all kinds of people that could interpret what he wanted, give ideas, and go back and forth, but it was all his vision. There wasn’t a thing he put on or did or said or performed that wasn’t his vision.

The photos of him in the yellow outfit were part of that same shoot. He always wanted to shoot as much as possible. He didn’t want to do a hundred photo shoots. We would do as much as we could in an intense amount of time.

Did you ever discuss Sign o’ the Times’ themes with Prince?

We never discussed the album or the music. We just stuck to the issue at hand. He didn’t really like a lot of questions. He wanted people to be observant. I think he responded to what I was giving him visually because it was kind of like his music: There was so much variation. I was pretty creative off the cuff, and I gave him many options. I had all different kinds of film stocks, all different kinds of colors, all different kinds of filtrations. Just because one shot was one way didn’t mean there had to be a theme. If he didn’t like something, he didn’t explain why. I’ve seen him just walk away if he didn’t like something. So I figured the fact that he was staying meant we were doing OK.

Did Prince ever want you to take more spontaneous portraits?

I once asked him if I could take some candid pictures and he said no, and that he liked things to be 100-percent polished and together and perfect. But as we really got to know each other, all of a sudden his team would say, “Prince wants you backstage.” He would be back there playing pool and having fun, and he just said, “Go for it.” So I just started taking pictures. But even though it was a casual shot, he was still prepared for me to come in. As a photographer, those pictures are very meaningful to me, and now they’re very historic because you can almost reach out and touch Prince.

Was photographing Prince performing different than photographing him in a studio?

On a technical level, it was a whole different animal. In the studio, I had some control over the design; with a concert, it’s more like being a sports photographer. But since I was his personal photographer, I had complete access and could be anywhere on or around the stage. It was pretty enjoyable for me because, unless you’ve seen Prince live, you haven’t captured his essence. He lived to perform. That’s where he existed.