Craig McDean

Craig McDean combines his love of racecars with his passion for fashion photography in his latest book. Steve Fairclough asks him about Manual

The British photographer fuses fast cars and fashion for his new book

The worlds of high-octane motor racing and stylish supermodels collide in spectacular fashion in the latest book – Manual – by photographer Craig McDean. It’s hardly surprising: this former car mechanic has a long‑held love for motorsport as well as an impressive CV in the challenging and competitive worlds of fashion, advertising, editorial and commercial photography.

During the mid-1990s, early in his career, McDean was embroiled in the media storm over the so-called ‘heroin chic’ style of fashion photography. The then-design director of Vogue, Charles Churchward, told The New

York Times, “The test for all these young photographers is whether they can reinvent themselves. I think Craig McDean is a great photographer, but can he evolve?” More than 20 years later, the answer is an emphatic ‘yes’, and McDean’s profile has arguably never been higher.

What drove your initial interest in photography?

I always was interested in the visual arts as a kid. I didn’t really know I was going to be a photographer, but I was really interested in film, drawings, paintings; anything that put visual art into it. Then my father had a camera at home and he used to take pictures – he wasn’t a great photographer, but there was always a little bit of [photography] in my family.

I’d never shown much of an interest in photography. I was actually very much into fashion or fashion design as well, so I’d never really thought about becoming a fashion photographer. I was just taking portraits of all the motocross racers. I’d have a camera with me and was just documenting my life.

Were you looking at photographs shot by other people?

Yes. I had piles of my favourite magazine at that time, National Geographic, and I was actually really thinking about becoming a war photographer. I was interested in people like Robert Capa and those who covered warfare.

I was looking at magazines quite a lot, wildlife photography and travel photography, and I had a great interest in that. But I also had a big interest in fashion, and was kind of torn between them. I was looking at all of the photo magazines, even a French one I can’t remember the name of. I am quite ‘techy’ and I want to know what lenses things are shot with, particularly on films. There’s a great website (www.shotonwhat.com) that tells you every film that was made, and which cameras and lenses it was shot on.

Why did you become a car mechanic?

I grew up racing motocross bikes from a young age. You’d have to rebuild your bike every week, so the mechanic part of it came into that. Then my father got me a weekend job as a car mechanic in his friend’s