Steve Jobs hated having his picture taken.
But when a photographer Albert Watso told him to pose like he was arguing with five people who were wrong—genius met genius.
And magic happened.
Watch “The Story Behind the Iconic Steve Jobs Picture by Albert Watson”
You can watch the video for free on YouTube by clicking the embed above.
Ratings:
- My Rating: 90/100
- IMDB Rating: na
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: na
Release Date:
Highlights of “The Story Behind the Iconic Steve Jobs Picture by Albert Watson”
Albert Watson, one of the most iconic portrait photographers alive. He’s not primarily known for documentary films, but rather for creating some of the most legendary images of the past 50 years.
His subjects have ranged from Alfred Hitchcock to Tupac Shakur. But if he has a signature portrait, it might just be his 2006 photo of Steve Jobs.
Albert Watson has created some of the most legendary images of the past 50 years.
His subjects range from Alfred Hitchcock to Tupac Shakur. But if he has a signature portrait, it might just be his 2006 photo of Steve Jobs.
This 2-minute doc clip tells the behind-the-scenes story of one of the most recognizable images of Steve Jobs. In it, photographer Albert Watson walks us through a 20-minute portrait session that turned into the Apple founder’s favorite photo of himself. What makes this doc special isn’t just who’s in front of the camera—but the quiet mastery of the man behind it.
Highlights
- Watson was told minutes before Jobs arrived: “Steve hates photographers.”
- Watson had Jobs for an hour—but finished in just 20 minutes. Watson’s trick to win Jobs over? He promised to be fast. “I think I can get this done in half an hour,” he said. Jobs lit up.
- Jobs called it “maybe the best picture ever taken of me.”
- The pose idea: Watson told Jobs, “Imagine you’re across from four or five people who don’t agree with you—but you know you’re right.” Jobs replied, “Easy for me. I do that every day.” The pose: That slight lean forward, the hand under the chin, and that controlled look—was all a mix of Watson’s direction and Jobs’ own instinct.
- Watson shot it like a passport photo—plain white background, tight framing, a hint of shadow fall-off for depth. No distractions.
- Jobs took the original Polaroid home.
- Years later, Watson got a call from California asking for that same image for immediate use.
- Watson found out Jobs had died via a phone alert while attending a Lincoln Center event that night. Moments later, he saw the portrait up on Apple’s homepage.The same day Watson’s photo went up on Apple’s website… Jobs died.
Thanks for reading!
Rob Kelly, Chief Maniac, Daily Doc