She filmed Scorsese and Tarantino! Behind the scenes secrets from Brigitte Lacombe

French photographer Brigitte Lacombe has had exclusive access to the sets of iconic directors for over 40 years. She has worked with Scorsese, Fellini, Bertolucci, Tarantino, Spielberg and other masters of modern cinema. In Lacombe's photos, you can see behind the scenes of such masterpieces as The Aviator, Gangs of New York, Shutter Island, Marie Antoinette.

The photographs taken by Brigitte Lacombe are not just a dry recording of the shooting process. The photographer simply could not have wasted such a unique opportunity. Each photograph is a work of photographic art, executed with excellent taste and high skill.

Taking good photos on a film set is not easy at all. The photographer is not even a secondary person there and has no control over the process. Lacombe could not ask her models to stop or smile. The master of photography herself jokingly calls herself a fly on the wall. She has access to the holy of holies, but at the same time is doomed to remain unnoticed.

Lacombe also does not deny that much of her work is tied to luck. The photographer says this about her collaboration with Martin Scorsese:

Brigitte Lacombe likes to say that the most important thing in her work is extreme concentration. On set, nothing is repeated twice, so you need to be not only invisible, but also determined. This is not talent, but acquired skill. Lacombe has been photographing stars since she was 17. She fulfilled the dream of her father, who wanted to become a photographer, but World War II prevented him.

In Lacombe's professional career, a happy accident has always played a big role. Brigitte was a very bad student at school and was even expelled several times for poor performance. No one except her father believed that she would make it. When Lacombe, with great difficulty, received her school certificate at the age of 17, her father got her a job as an apprentice in the photo lab of Elle magazine through a friend. Only men worked there and the girl was hired reluctantly.

Her debut as a photographer took place in 1975 at the Cannes Film Festival. And then chance helped. The editor-in-chief of Elle had only one reason to meet Brigitte halfway. She was from Cannes and could live with her parents. That way the editorial staff could save on a hotel for the photographer. At the festival, Lacombe met Dustin Hoffman, who offered her a job on the set of the film All the President's Men.

So Lacombe started working with filmmakers. She managed to establish friendly relations with many stars and this helps her to create. For example, Meryl Streep hates to be photographed, but she never refuses Lacombe. The photographer takes pictures not only of actors. Andy Warhol, Nelson Mandela, Stephen Hawking, Dalai Lama, Annie Leibovitz have posed for her.

Now Brigitte Lacombe is well over 70, but she continues to work actively and organizes solo exhibitions every year. Her story is an inspiring example of how perseverance, attention to detail and a little luck can lead to an outstanding career. Have you ever wondered what profession behind the scenes of cinema you would like - maybe a director, a cameraman, or maybe an invisible observer like Lacombe? Share in the comments!