Revisiting the King of Kink

In the opening scene of Helmut By June, premiering April 30 on Cinemax, photographer Helmut Newton's wife, June, offers an introduction by way of a eulogy. "He was not a promiscuous man," she says, "but shortly before he died he said to me, 'Junie, you have [accrued] a lot of credit!'" The admission is one of several revealing moments in the documentary, shot by Newton's widow, as it takes viewers behind the scenes of some of the legendary fashion snapper's most iconic shots.

During a session with Cindy Crawford in Monte Carlo, for example, Newton indulges two passersby, accepting 500 francs apiece to snap their portraits. On another shoot, with Claudia Schiffer cast as a Park Avenue wife who walks in on her husband with the maid, Newton turns to the camera and says, "Every scene I do here is plucked from the reality, the harshness of everyday life..." and then, after a dramatic pause, deadpans, "amongst the rich." Later, while arguing on the phone with a publisher, he sputters, "I don't know anything about this writing process. I'm a pornographer!"

The following images can be viewed as a companion gallery to June Newton's endearing portrait of one of fashion photography's most revered artists. —Jordan Heller

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