On the occasion of Paris Photo 2025 and the reissue of his book Kaos in XL format by Taschen, we met with Albert Watson. Between anecdotes about his iconic portraits of Steve Jobs and Hitchcock, reflections on AI, and advice for young photographers, he shares his vision of an exceptional career.
84 years old, over 180 magazine covers, and portraits that became iconic of Steve Jobs, Alfred Hitchcock, and Jack Nicholson. In the elegant setting of the Taschen Gallery, at 2 rue de Buci in Paris, Albert Watson welcomes us to talk about Kaos, his major work now released in a new edition. The man has lost none of his wit. A candid conversation with one of the most influential photographers of our time.
Sommaire
- Kaos, new edition
- Seven formative years that shaped everything
- Steve Jobs: the art of absolute simplicity
- Hitchcock and the goose: the turning point
- The importance of simplicity: magazine covers
- The power of the gaze
- The technical question: from 35mm to digital medium format
- AI: primitive but interesting
- Advice for young photographers: passion above all
Kaos, new edition
It is for the reissue of Kaos by Taschen that Albert Watson came to Paris. A new version that features a few adjustments compared to the original. “There is only one photograph that is different in this new version,” he explains. “It comes from the Rome project I just completed. I had a major exhibition in Rome at the Palazzo Esposizioni Roma.”
The other change? The removal of the portrait of R. Kelly, with a pragmatic explanation from Watson: “Since he went to prison, the publisher preferred to remove it from the publication.” An editorial decision that reflects the current era’s sensitivity to ethical issues.
Seven formative years that shaped everything
Contrary to what one might think, Albert Watson didn’t follow a linear path from graphic design to cinema and then to photography. “I spent seven years in art school — a classic degree, a master’s, and a doctorate. It was a long period; I was about 27 or 28 by the end,” he specifies. It was during his second year that he discovered photography, as part of his graphic design studies at Dundee (Scotland), at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.
One teacher in particular left a mark on his journey. “I was very lucky to have a professor who was himself an excellent photographer and extremely passionate. But above all, he was obsessed with printing. He firmly believed in the importance of putting the work on paper, on a wall.”
This demand for high-quality printing has accompanied Albert Watson to this day. “Even with digital, I keep all the printing work in-house. I never outsource it. Every print you can purchase comes from our gallery, from our studio.” A philosophy inherited from those formative years.
This multidisciplinary education can be seen in every image of his book Kaos. “If you look at Kaos, you’ll see that graphic design is everywhere. Some images are purely graphic. But others combine graphic design with a cinematic approach — particularly through the use of tungsten light.”
Some images are purely graphic. But others combine graphic design with a cinematic approach.
Albert Watson
Steve Jobs: the art of absolute simplicity
Among Albert Watson’s most iconic images is the portrait of Steve Jobs. A photograph that perfectly illustrates his philosophy of minimalism. “I knew that with Apple, this portrait had to be really simple,” he confides.
Albert Watson draws a parallel with Apple Stores: “You walk in, and if you didn’t know Apple, you wouldn’t be entirely sure what they’re selling.” That empty space, that minimalism, had to be reflected in the portrait. Photographing Steve Jobs in his office was out of the question — it would have looked like reportage. Albert Watson wanted something iconic.
To capture the perfect expression, he imagined a precise scenario: “I told him: imagine you’re walking into your office, on one side of the table. On the other side are people who work for Apple, but they don’t like your ideas. You’re the boss.” Steve Jobs replied immediately: “No problem, that happens to me every day.”
Albert Watson continues: “I asked him to think about smiling — or rather NOT smiling, but about listening. To think: I’m listening to what you say, but I know I’m right. And he said: that’s easy for me.” The result is that steely gaze, with a slight, contained smile. “And when he saw the photo, he loved it.”
Albert Watson sums up the essence of the portrait: “The image is almost like a passport photo, you know. But better. What you feel is that attitude: ‘I’m listening, but we’re doing it my way.’ That’s exactly the feeling it conveys — someone strong, confident.”
Hitchcock and the goose: the turning point
Another iconic image marks the photographer’s career: Alfred Hitchcock holding a plucked goose, photographed in 1973 in Los Angeles. Initially, Harper’s Bazaar magazine wanted to photograph the director holding a plate with the goose on it, for a Christmas recipe article. Albert Watson, fresh out of film school, dared to suggest an alternative.
It was a very important image for me, mainly in terms of confidence.
Albert Watson
“Very politely, I said: of course, I can photograph the goose on a plate, but it makes me feel like Hitchcock would look like a maître d’. I thought we needed something more Hitchcockian.” His proposal: use a plucked goose with its head still on, held by the neck. “It looked like he had killed it himself.”
This image was a turning point — but not for the reasons one might think. “It was a very important image for me, mainly in terms of confidence. I was nervous about taking this photo because it was Alfred Hitchcock. I had just come out of film school, so I was a bit scared to have Hitchcock in front of me. But I took a deep breath and told myself: either it’s going to be a success, or it won’t. And of course, it was a success.”
Albert Watson humbly admits: “I’ve always cited this image as one of my favorites, not because it’s the best. I think there are better images. But with Hitchcock and the goose, it’s just very iconic and memorable. People remember it more than other photos.”
The importance of simplicity: magazine covers
How does a photographer manage to produce over 180 magazine covers in a career? Albert Watson shares his secret: “When you look at some storefronts in New York, they display 20 magazine covers at once. I realized early on that if I used a certain technique — because of the way I shoot — my photo would instantly stand out among all those magazines.”
He adds: “It’s like a visual code. If you see one of my covers, you can spot it from across the street in a second. That kind of instant recognition — that was the key to success. I’m surprised more photographers haven’t figured that out.”
But the photographer remains clear-eyed about the evolution of the profession. “The era of great fashion photography has almost disappeared. It’s very rare today to see real fashion images in the way I understood them. The photographers who left their mark on this field — Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, Irving Penn, [Richard] Avedon — those days are over. You no longer see that weight, that gravity in the images.”
If you see one of my covers, you can spot it from across the street in a second.
Albert Watson
The power of the gaze
In Albert Watson’s portraits, one element immediately stands out: the subject’s gaze that grabs you. And the photographer confirms: “It’s no accident. One of the things we do in galleries is to place the portraits at a specific height. Instead of looking up, you’re at the same level as the person. Your eyes are at the same height as theirs. That way, when you look at the photo, the person is looking back at you.”
The objective is clear: “We try to create an image that draws you in, that absorbs you. There are several ways to achieve that. It can be monumental, iconic, super simple, or simply based on direct eye contact. But that’s not always the case. I’ve made many images without eye contact. I like to vary the approach.”
The technical question: from 35mm to digital medium format
When asked which camera gear was the most important in his career, Albert Watson refuses to choose. “It’s hard to give a short answer,” he admits. For him, the key lies in the constant movement between formats.
He describes a classic path: “You start with a portable 35mm, then move toward medium format, like a Hasselblad. Then you move to a 4×5 view camera, and maybe even to 8×10.” Richard Avedon, he recalls, eventually adopted 8×10 as his preferred format. Albert Watson, however, found his balance elsewhere: “When I moved from the Hasselblad to the 4×5, I really loved that format. It suited my style. The 8×10 was too slow, too heavy, too difficult to handle on location.”
But it’s when speaking about optics that Albert truly lights up. He refers to what he calls an “optical stretch” unique to large formats: “The way light travels through a large format lens is different from a smaller Canon or Nikon lens.” A physical quality that cannot be replicated: “You can take exactly the same image with a 35mm, but it’s not the same thing.”
The way light travels through a large format lens is different from a smaller Canon or Nikon lens. You can take exactly the same image with a 35mm, but it’s not the same thing.
Albert Watson
This line of thought naturally leads him to smartphones. “That’s why your iPhone renders images differently. The lens is very close to the sensor — just a few millimeters.” He doesn’t disparage the tool: “It’s a device truly made for amateurs, but it makes them better photographers. Suddenly, you take a photo of a sunset with your iPhone and it really looks like a sunset, instead of a washed-out mess.”
The photographer also discusses, of course, high-resolution medium format cameras. “I found that a Phase One camera delivers 150-megapixel images, which corresponds to a medium format view camera, but the information is better than an 8×10 negative. I really liked that.” For his Rome project, he worked between 150 and 290 megapixels.
He illustrates this capability with a striking anecdote, describing an image assembled from several 8×10 plates: “There might be a car in a landscape, very small. But you have the ability, in the software, to zoom in and read the license plate.” The information exists, even if no print can fully reproduce it.
Albert Watson also notes the limits of technology: “You can create 800-megapixel images by stacking, but the problem is they don’t translate well in print. The printer just doesn’t have that capacity.”
Albert Watson ends with a surprising admission: “The technical aspect of photography was extremely hard for me. It’s not something I particularly enjoy. The technical aspects bore me.” Yet he recognizes the importance of mastery: “The more I understood the technique, the more creative doors it opened. If you want to be a real photographer, you have to learn the technical truth — even if it’s not your passion.”
The smartphone is a device truly made for amateurs, but it makes them better photographers.
Albert Watson
AI: primitive but interesting
On the topic of artificial intelligence in photography, Albert Watson takes a nuanced stance. His initial observation is unequivocal: “The problem with AI is that it doesn’t have enough quality. You create an AI image, it appears on the screen, you say ‘let’s print it at this size,’ and you think: it looks awful.”
Yet he experimented with AI during his Rome project — and found something unexpected. He uses a linguistic metaphor to explain this phenomenon: “Sometimes I felt like I was typing into the computer in English and it was answering me in French. I gave it ‘one, two, three, four’ and it gave me back ‘un, deux, trois, quatre’. It’s the same thing, but different.” On certain images of Roman monuments, the trees in the background came back “with a different accent, a different form of communication.”
Albert Watson sees a paradoxical creative potential: “In a way, the primitiveness of AI compared to the human mind… its interpretation of my image, the way it came back to me with a different accent — I found that interesting.” But his conclusion remains measured: “It’s not sophisticated enough.” For curious photographers, however, it opens up avenues for reflection.
Advice for young photographers: passion above all
What advice would he give to someone who wants to become a photographer today? Albert Watson responds with an interesting analogy: “You get into a car for the first time and someone tells you what to do. You start it, you look in the mirror. You have to press the clutch to shift gears. Be careful not to hit a pedestrian. Watch out for red lights. When you start out, you say: it’s impossible, I can’t do this.”
He continues: “30 years later. You get in the car and go somewhere, you can have a phone conversation at the same time. You don’t hit anyone. You obey the lights, shift gears, reverse, park. Everything becomes fluid. It’s the same with a camera. To learn to use a camera, you have to work. You have to love it.”
To learn to use a camera, you have to work. You have to love it.
Albert Watson
“If you’re interested in fashion photography, you might be drawn to the glamour, the beautiful women, the stylish clothes. But what you really have to do if you want to shoot fashion is study fashion. You have to study fabrics. You need to know the difference between silk and brushed cotton. It matters. You have to be passionate about what you’re photographing.”
Albert Watson illustrates his point: “If I’m photographing Steve Jobs, I’m passionate about Steve Jobs. If I’m photographing Tutankhamun’s gloves in the basement of the Cairo Museum, then I need to be excited and interested. What I have in front of me is the oldest glove known to humanity — Tutankhamun’s glove.”
He gives a word of warning: “I think passion is what matters. You have to be sure of that. I’ve had, unfortunately, several assistants who were drawn to photography for the wrong reasons. And then they tried to make the leap — from assistant to image maker. They couldn’t do it.”
Albert Watson concludes with a chilling figure: “I’ve had 600 assistants over the course of my career. Only one managed to become a good photographer. One. I had many very good ones — even fantastic. But only one made the leap.”
Thanks to Albert Watson for answering our questions, and to the Taschen gallery for making this meeting possible. You can find Albert Watson’s latest book Kaos at the Taschen store.
