| Richard Young | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947 |
| Nationality | English |
| Occupation | Photographer |
| Known for | Celebrity and society photographer since the 1970s |
Richard Young (born 1947) is an English society and celebrity photographer. His photography career started in 1974 and since then, he has photographed personalities such as Princess Diana of Wales, Elizabeth Taylor, and Mick Jagger.
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Young grew up in North London. He left school when he was 15 and worked in a boutique in King's Road.[1] In 1968, he went to Paris where he spent nine months working with advertising and fashion photographer, John Bishop. In the early 1970s, he moved to New York where his girlfriend was photographer Flo Fox.[2] He returned to London in the spring of 1974 and worked at a bookshop on Regent Street.[2]
In 1974, Young’s career in photography began when he was asked to take pictures for a book written by John Cowper Powys.[3] Later that year, he was invited to photograph philanthropist John Paul Getty III as he went around London. These pictures earned him a job as a freelance photographer at the Evening Standard.[3][4] He then worked with gossip magazine, Ritz Magazine, from 1976 to 1983.[3][4]. Among Young's early photographs is a photograph taken of Keith Moon dining with Paul McCartney, hours before Moon died.[5] Another is a photograph taken of Elizabeth Taylor kissing Richard Burton at his 50th birthday party at the Dorchester.[6]
Currently, Young continues his career as a celebrity photographer and has worked with the photographic agency Rex Features for three decades.[7] He and his wife, Susan Young, own their own gallery called the Richard Young Gallery in Kensington. His work as well as those by other photographers, is displayed at the gallery.[8] His diverse portfolio includes Diana, Princess of Wales, Joan Collins, Elizabeth II, Kate Moss, Andy Warhol, Bob Marley, Jennifer Aniston and Mick Jagger among many others.[6] Young has also photographed important political and cultural events including United States troops in Iraq and Fidel Castro in Cuba. He has also visited orphanages in Romania with Michael Jackson and photographed the 4664 benefit for Nelson Mandela.[9] In 2006, The Times named him as "one of the most important photographers of the 20th century".[10] Young is currently planning a documentary about his early life.[11]
Young and Susan have three children; Dan, Sam and Hannah.[1]