Gwyneth Paltrow Posing With a Snake to Cher Poking Her Tongue Out: Stories Behind Iconic Celeb Photos (Exclusive)

It’s hard to find a more prolific celebrity photographer than Marc Hom.

After moving to New York in his early 20s, the Copenhagen-born portraitist landed his first full-page magazine picture in 1992: a double shot of comedian Sandra Bernhard and designer Isaac Mizrahi.

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He spent the next 30 years on set with some of the biggest names in entertainment: Taylor Swift, Anne Hathaway and Quentin Tarantino, to name a few. Hom was even behind David Beckham’s sultry shots for PEOPLE when the soccer icon was named 2015’s Sexiest Man Alive.

When asked about his process, Hom told PEOPLE for a story in this week’s print edition that the work is like “ping-pong between the subject and the photographer” — which is why “I answer that I only photograph people I find interesting.” Of course, there are some juicy anecdotes from the days of filming the stars.

Here are the stories behind eight of his most famous celebrity photos.

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie.

Marc Hom

Before arriving on the set of this 2008 pic, the actress — who was promoting her role in the drama A mighty heart at the time — Hom said, “I can’t be too sexy or too sexual in this picture” because of the seriousness of the film, the photographer recalled to PEOPLE. “Then she shows up and this is what happens.”

For Hom, it’s proof that sometimes you “go with the flow” when photographing your subjects.

“You can have certain things planned, which is always something you should have, but also at a certain point you have to give up on that idea,” he says. “Things could take a right turn and you have to follow that path.”

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow.

Marc Hom

Further proof that “you can’t really plan everything,” the snake that appears in this 1997 footage wasn’t meant to be a prop — it was the pet of one of Hom’s on-set assistants.

“I thought, ‘Should we try to use this snake?’ ” remembers Hom. “And Gwyneth loved it.”

As for whether he was the inspiration behind Britney Spears’ iconic snake VMA performance just four years later, Hom says, “You never know.”

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Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson.

Marc Hom

The out-of-the-box concept for this 2019 veteran photo came to Hom in a dream the night before the shoot.

“I couldn’t get this idea out of my head,” he says. “I had to get it out of my system somehow.”

At first, he struggled to approach the actor with the idea, but Hom says he thinks Jackson “really loved it” — “otherwise he wouldn’t have done it.”

Cher

Cher.

Marc Hom

For his shoot with Cher, the perfect image came from an on-set interaction in “the movement of the moment.”

“I was just there, shooting her, and then all of a sudden her tongue came out, and I said, ‘Hold on—that’s the picture I want,'” says Hom.

The Grammy winner apparently liked the final result, as she used the image as the album cover for her 1996 single “Paradise Is Here.”

“That’s another wonderful thing, when you do an editorial together and the subject likes the images you’re doing,” notes Hom. “They will use it for other places.”

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Lupita Nyong’o

Lupita Nyong’o.

Marc Hom

Ahead of the actress’ first Oscar win in 2014, for Best Supporting Actress in the 12 years of slaveryHom shot Nyong’o at the Plaza Hotel — carrying the responsibility of introducing the rising star to the world.

“You could say it’s the beginning of her career, because she’s so open,” says Hom, looking over the picture again. “When you look at her face, it looks like she’s looking into the future.”

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Glenn Close

Glenn Close.

Marc Hom

For an actress of Close’s caliber, “they morph into so many different roles,” says Hom. “She’s a real camel.”

In this 2002 portrait, Hom opted for almost no hair or make-up, wanting to “get her purity”.

“It looks fresh—almost lit up,” he says. “I just love this picture.”

Robert Redford

Robert Redford.

Marc Hom

When he was on set with a famous actor in 2014, Hom found himself a bit stunned. “I have known all his works all my life,” he says. “He was amazing.”

According to the photographer, the stylist wanted to dress Redford in “these really sophisticated sweaters” — but Hom disagreed.

“I said, ‘No, let’s do it a lot more Robert,'” he remembers. “I actually brought my denim shirt and he ended up wearing it because I didn’t want it to be too dressy.”

Lenny Kravitz

Lenny Kravitz.

Marc Hom

Hom captured this image of the multi-hyphenate artist at his home in Paris around the release of his aptly-titled 2011 album. Black and white America.

“I went downstairs — he has a pay phone downstairs — and I saw a point of light coming from street level,” Hom remembers. “So I said, ‘Okay, let’s start like this. Let’s just work with the light.’”

Looking back at the shot, Hom notes the contrasting textures: “You have this amazing body, but you also have the scarf texture, which is kind of rough,” he says. “It all worked really well together.”

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Reframeda retrospective exhibition of Hom’s photographs, is open at the Fenimore Museum of Art in Cooperstown, NY, through September 2. A companion book of the same name is now on sale, from the publisher teNeues, wherever books are sold.

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Source: HIS Education