Paul McCartney has paid tribute to Beatles album cover photographer Robert Freeman following his death.
The snapper's passing was announced via the Beatles’ Twitter account on Friday (08Nov19) without any further details, and McCartney was quick to release a statement calling his late friend "imaginative and a true original thinker".
Freeman’s photos of the Beatles featured on the covers of albums like Rubber Soul and Help! and in his tribute, McCartney recalled the shoot for With the Beatles: "People often think that the cover shot for Meet The Beatles of our foreheads in half shadow was a carefully arranged studio shot. In fact it was taken quite quickly by Robert in the corridor of a hotel we were staying in, where natural light came from the windows at the end of the corridor," he writes. "I think it took no more than half an hour to accomplish."
He adds: "He was one of our favourite photographers during the Beatles years who came up with some of our most iconic album covers. Besides being a great professional he was imaginative and a true original thinker.
"Bob also took the Rubber Soul cover; his normal practice was to use a slide projector and project the photos he’d taken onto a piece of white cardboard which was exactly album sized, thus giving us an accurate idea of how the finished product would look. During his viewing session the card which had been propped up on a small table fell backwards giving the photograph a ‘stretched’ look. Instead of simply putting the card upright again we became excited at the idea of this new version of his photograph.
"He assured us that it was possible to print it this way and because the album was titled Rubber Soul we felt that the image fitted perfectly.
"I will miss this wonderful man but will always cherish the fond memories I have of him."
