Ron Galella, the original paparazzo, died on April 30th, aged 91
The snapper to the stars was best known for his run-ins with Jackie Kennedy
SOME PHOTOGRAPHERS use studios, and assistants to help with the lighting. Ron Galella had a method, a method he believed in so deeply it amounted to a creed: learn to crash events, find out where the kitchen is (useful for sneaking in), never check your coat, shoot fast and always hold the camera in front of your chest. If you hold it up and look through the lens, you don’t see the eyes. What you need is eye contact. Eye-to-eye, person to person, he liked to say, that’s how you get the real McCoy.
This article appeared in the Obituary section of the print edition under the headline “Starstruck”
From the May 14th 2022 edition
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