‘Back Then Models Were Celebrities’: Fashion Photographer Pamela Hanson Looks Back On This Iconic Snapshot

This photo was taken on Harbour Island in the Bahamas in 1995. The shoot was for US Vogue and the models are Kirsty Hume and Niki Taylor. I like the juxtaposition of them looking super chic while playing pool in a dive bar. Niki (right) had this amazing energy – so sporty and all-American. Kirsty was this sophisticated European, with beautiful long hair. You really felt the personality of those girls. They were like actresses – they really got into the moment. Back then models were celebrities, readers felt like they knew them and there was a longevity to their career, which I think happens less now.

We were like a family: we travelled together, ate together, worked together. I photographed them getting off planes, jumping around on boats. We were there for five or six days to get the pictures. Budgets aren’t the same now. Even the luxury fashion houses don’t have money to spend on shoots like this.

Back then we were using film (as opposed to digital), so you didn’t even know what you’d captured till you got home.

Pamela Hanson: The 90sis published by Rizzoli, £65. To order a copy for £55.25 with free UK delivery until 9 November, go to mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937