Steve Jobs was 'the Nightmare Subject' for Photographers

A professional photography is running an interesting story about Steve Jobs as a subject for photographers. According to PDN Pulse, those who’ve had the chance to meet the late Apple co-founder during photo sessions say he was a difficult subject, “and not just run-of-the mill difficult, but the archetype of difficult.”

“It was the joke among photographers. He was like the nightmare subject,” says San Francisco photographer William Mercer McLeod.

McLeod photographed Jobs five times on assignment. The guy also worked for Apple side by side with the team developing the Aperture photography software.

Another professional photographer and photojournalist, Ed Kashi, had this to say about the late Steve Jobs:

“He was one of the most difficult subjects I ever dealt with during my Silicon Valley years but I appreciated his awareness of identity, setting and message of the images.”

Kashi, who photographed the Apple co-founder roughly 10 times between the early 1980s and early 1990s, recalled a very memorable episode where someone on the set had gotten so upset, he lost his temper and screamed at Jobs at the top of his lungs:

“There was one time I had to get a picture with him and Ross Perot and when Jobs acted up Perot turned to him and like a stern parent said ‘Steve, Grow up!!’”

Kashi added that, “No matter how dreadful he could be as a subject, I am deeply saddened by his early departure.”

McLeod also recalls an episode where Jobs walked into the photo shoot, started messing around with the equipment, called the art director in New York and asked to change the setting.

McLeod and Kashi were left speechless: “He’s the only person I ever saw do that,” McLeod said. “Photographing Steve was like a dance. He had such a thing for control like nobody I’ve ever seen. He loved to be in charge. He wanted to have his say.”

Yep, that’s the Steve Jobs we knew, alright.