Michael Jackson was one of the most photographed people on earth, but almost all of it was on his terms. Controlled. Precise. Carefully constructed. Which is what makes the 1987 Greg Gorman session so unexpected, and why the photo stayed hidden for nearly thirty years.
Greg Gorman was already a well-known celebrity photographer by the mid-1980s, working regularly with some of the biggest names in music and film.
He and Michael had developed a real creative relationship over the years, talking on the phone for hours before any shoot, going through concepts, trading ideas.
Gorman has said Michael took photography as seriously as any other art form.
Greg Gorman Talks About Working With Michael Jackson
What happened in 1987 started with a conversation. Michael told Gorman he admired his nude work, both male and female subjects, and that he wanted to push himself creatively in the same direction.
Not a full nude, Gorman was clear about that, but SOMETHING MORE EXPOSED THAN ANYTHING MICHAEL HAD ALLOWED BEFORE. So they did it.
The shoot happened in Los Angeles, and the resulting image, a semi-nude portrait that barely looks like the Michael the public knew, was taken that same year.
He Stepped Out Of His Comfort Zone For This Shoot
Multiple sources confirmed the existence of these pictures, including Michael’s makeup artist Karen Faye and the photographer himself. Some claim images are created using AI, but real proof regarding these exist
Then the images disappeared. Gorman held onto it privately for close to three decades before finally displaying it publicly at the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin in 2015 as part of his Color Works exhibition. When it surfaced, even longtime fans weren’t sure they were looking at the right person.
Michael’s makeup artist Karen Faye, who was present at the session, confirmed the image was real.
For a man so guarded about how the world saw him, the decision to do this at all says something. Michael trusted very few people with access to his private self.
The fact that he gave Gorman that access, and that Gorman kept it to himself for almost thirty years, says just as much about the nature of that trust.