‘I feel very lucky.’ Famed photographer Greg Gorman details life behind the lens
By LA Stories Staff Hollywood Hills
PUBLISHED 5:00 AM PT Sep. 20, 2021
What do David Bowie, Barbra Streisand, Al Pacino and Grace Jones all have in common?
Greg Gorman has photographed them all.
For more than 50 years, the famed photographer has been shooting some of the biggest names in Hollywood. His portraits of the stars are some of the most iconic in the world. Gorman has worked on some of the biggest movie sets, including “Scarface” and “Tootsie.” He also has shot covers for some of the biggest magazines, including Interview and Life.
Gorman’s secret to success is getting inside the heads of the people he shoots and making a lasting connection with them.
“It’s basically a question of winning their trust and confidence,” he said. “Once you’ve got that in the palm of your hand, the rest falls into line.”
In this episode of “LA Stories with Giselle Fernandez,” Gorman opens up about his monumental career in Hollywood.
Gorman has put the best of his work in his latest book, “It’s Not About Me!” He shares stories of working with the greats — some of whom have joined him for his famous dinner parties at his home.
“We had Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, all of them here,” he said. “Elton comes every year.”
Gorman said he’s learned to live his life to the fullest with no regrets. Today, while he still works in photography, he has found new passions in life, including fishing and learning about wine. He even owned a vineyard, which he has since sold. But the biggest passion Gorman has found as of late is teaching. He travels the world teaching workshops in photography.
“Being able to give something back to people, to see if you can turn the lights on in somebody that has a drive and a passion for photography, it’s pretty awesome,” he said.
Gorman hopes his legacy will be his body of work.
“I’ve been so fortunate to have had a very warm and successful career,” he said. “I feel very lucky to have been able to do what I did all these years.”
LISTEN PODCAST