The Beautiful and Moody, As Shot by Bryan Adams

A photo shoot gone wrong inspired Canadian singer Bryan Adams to start taking self-portraits for his album covers. He loved the process and soon began shooting fashion photography editorials for publications including Harper's Bazaar, Zoo, and i-D. And his first book, Exposed, a retrospective available now, documents twelve years of images by the musician, who's touring this month. "There is no such thing as a side project," Adams told the Cut. He would shoot someone like Jared Leto during the day, then play a gig the same night. With introductions from Elton John and Daphne Guinness, Adams's book also includes intimate portraits of high-profile celebrities like Queen Elizabeth II, Amy Winehouse, Mick Jagger, Sean Penn, and more. Below, read our interview with Adams as we chatted about the new release; then click through our slideshow for exclusive photos from the retrospective.

How did you choose the title Exposed?
I wanted to reference the idea of light exposing film, that sort of nod to technical things and double entendre of people exposing themselves.

How did you get into photography?
I really enjoyed the artistry of it. Because way before there was Photoshop, you had to go in and get your pictures printed, so sometimes you'd spend hours going back and forth getting one single print. And it wasn't like you could just hit a button and press file save. You had to start again. There's something wonderful about that. 

Via: The Beautiful and Moody, As Shot by Bryan Adams