My First Shoot With The Divine Liv Tyler (1993)

My dear friend Bebe called me up and said ‘Cliver I am coming to London (from LA)  with my beautiful daughter Liv and I’d love you to take some photographs”. I was of course delighted to be asked and booked a studio in Chelsea. They both arrived at the studio in what looked like matching stripped pyjamas or sailors uniforms. They looked so cute I decided to shoot them as they were before shooting Liv in the clothes the stylist had brought.

The stylist had provided a very beautiful Marie Antoinette themed dress whichLiv wore as well as shooting her in a simple white shirt. She seemed to have a very strong idea of who she was even then. Obviously as a young teenager there is that moment of rebellion and Liv certainly was not one to be told what to do. Bebe suggested lots of different outfits but Liv was very clear about what she did and didn’t like, which is no bad thing in this industry.

It was clear even then that Liv knew what she was going to do and where she was going and had very definitive ideas about herself and was clearly in this for the long game. She was very confident and sparky and full of fun as the middle finger salute below clearly illustrates. The sudden appearance of this gesture made everyone on the set laugh uproariously as we were not expecting it.

Not taking yourself too seriously is a great quality which works well in the photo studio and I am sure has served Liv very well on film sets over the years. I think what she has achieved as a well respected actress is incredible. Even though I had known her Mum for decades Liv and I developed a great working chemistry and I later shot her at The Hard Rock Cafe and then used her for a  De Beers campaign.  She genuinely has such an incredible, beautiful and unknowable quality in front of the camera, which is probably why she is such a great and versatile actress.

Liv has a new film out now called Wilding, you can view the trailer here.

• Clive Arrowsmith is shooting stunning images, staging exhibitions and is as passionate about photography as he was when he first pressed the shutter at The Paris Collections. He is available for global media opportunities related to his work and photography generally. Bespoke prints from Clive’s archive are also available by special request, for any enquiries  (email Eugenie here). Clive’s book Arrowsmith: Fashion, Beauty & Portraits is available here and Lowry at Home: Salford 1966 is available here