Alexi Lubomirski is not easily rattled. The photographer has spent his two-decade career shooting celebrities like Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow – but even his relaxed demeanour sounds like it was shaken by the production that is a royal wedding.
As official photographer for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s marriage in 2018, he was charged with getting not only portraits of the couple but a group photograph with the extended family, the bridesmaids and pageboys.
It was one of the most stressful moments of his career, not least because courtiers had warned him in advance that Prince Philip wasn’t a fan of having his picture taken; equally, he had to corral 10 under-10s into looking at the camera.
With the children proving to be a handful, Lubomirski, 47, eventually went up to the late Queen and promised he wouldn’t be more than five minutes; she smiled and said, “I’m not the one you need to worry about.”
In the end, he got the shot by asking, “Who likes Smarties?” to the resounding response of “Me”.
Luckily, Lubomirski has the natural confidence and easy charm of someone who has lived an unusually glamorous life. In fact, if a novelist created a character like him, a good editor would likely suggest they tone it down.
Born to a British-Peruvian mother and a French-Polish father, he grew up between Botswana and Paris and went to an English boarding school.
Next up, New York, where he still lives and where he launched a fashion photography career under Mario Testino before becoming the portrait-taker of choice for major celebrities and royalty. Oh, and his full title, inherited through his father, is His Serene Highness Prince Alexi Lubomirski.
Phew. Although good looks and a Mills & Boon backstory aren’t quite enough to sustain a two and a half decade career – and part of his success comes down to intuitively knowing what his subjects need from him.
“Some girls want to flirt with you, some guys want to flirt with you; some guys want to show you that they’re alpha on the set,” he says, over Zoom from his house in upstate New York.
“The big trick is to get them to forget they are in front of a camera by throwing a few jokes in, and catching a tiny moment when they’re disarmed.”
Mega-stars are rarely the ones to arrive with an entourage or demand special treatment.
Despite this, the only other occasion he was rattled was when he photographed Julia Roberts for the first time.
“I had to bring a couple of T-shirts as I sweated right through them. Although, really, she creates this fantastic familial feeling on set – and all you have to do is say something that makes her laugh, and you’ve got the shot.”
Lubomirski has gone on to work with Roberts numerous times for magazines including Elle, Marie Claire and Harper’s Bazaar – and allegedly, Meghan Markle hired him after seeing one of these shoots.
Another trick is to give his A-listers a character.
On a Harper’s Bazaar shoot with Kate Winslet he asked her to imagine she was waiting in a Parisian apartment for her lover, who was late; as Winslet leaned against the mantlepiece and turned her face into a mixture of excited, anxious and seductive, he felt chills run up his arms.
“My assistant had to nudge me to take the photograph because I was so in awe of what she was doing.”
Generally, British actors win in the fun stakes, and one of his favourite people to work with is Ewan McGregor, who is as happy to hop around on set in bunny ears as he is to pose in a suit.
“I desperately miss how good British people are at laughing at themselves,” he says. “You quickly learn in America not to take the piss out of other people – whereas in Britain it’s a sign of rapport.”
Lubomirski speaks with an English accent and that, mixed with his royal connections and his successful career in what he describes as “clean-slate” America, made him the ideal choice for the status-conscious Duke and Duchess of Sussex (he took their engagement photos, their wedding pictures and their first family-of-four Christmas card).
Before collaborating with big-name subjects, Lubomirski finds points in common to chat about on set. With Harry, Botswana was the obvious choice – but it sounds like the Duke of Sussex was more interested in honing his burgeoning photographic skills.
In fact, the Princess of Wales appears to have some competition on her hands. “Harry is really interested in photography,” says Lubomirski.
“He takes a lot of great black and white pictures. I talked to him about different apps to use to create the perfect picture. I was definitely giving him ideas.”
Watch out fellow celebrity photographer Brooklyn Beckham, with his reportage of elephants.
The prince-on-prince professional relationship began on the grounds of Windsor Castle in late 2017 when Lubomirski shot the all-important engagement images that would act as Meghan’s royal coming-out.
“Every time they looked at each other I almost felt awkward. I kept thinking, ‘This is so intimate, should I even be here for this?’ Being around them was very intoxicating.’’
While the rest of the press pack was kept at arm’s length, he spent hours with them. “I’m cheesy and I love taking pictures of people in love.”
I ask if being a prince changed the dynamic between himself and the royal couple and Lubomirski laughs and says, “No” seven times in a row. “It’s not like there’s a secret handshake between princes. We’re not masons.”
Although Harry and Meghan aren’t his only British royal connections.
In 2018, Lubomirski photographed Charles and Camilla in Clarence House for Vanity Fair. Mostly, they talked about lavender – how to grow it, the different varieties and the soothing effects of it – but alongside this, Lubomirski noticed how happy the now King and Queen seemed in each other’s company.
“They laughed and turned to each other all the time, like boyfriend and girlfriend. You would never have thought they had been together so long.”
Lubomirski should know – he has been married for well over a decade to his Cuban-Italian wife Giada, with whom he has two sons.
In fact, the one downside of being a good-looking straight prince in the world of fashion photography is that absolutely everyone assumes you are going to be unfaithful.
“People congratulated me on getting married but told me I’d probably cheat on my wife – which I absolutely haven’t,” he insists. “I always mention her in the first few minutes of a shoot so nobody gets the wrong idea.”
A relief for Giada, I would imagine, given how many of the world’s great beauties he has worked with.
Many of them are now the subjects of his new book, The Sittings (2003-2023), a collection of 113 portraits that include Julia Roberts, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Aniston and of course the royals.
The publication is accompanied by an exhibition at the ArtSpace in Claridge’s which runs until May 17, with all proceeds going to humanitarian charity Concern Worldwide.
Notably, most of the celebrities in his exhibition are smiling – which is unusual in the world of high-end photography.
“In the end, the best compliment is when someone’s mum says it’s a nice picture because mothers want their children to look happy – but also like themselves.”
Spoken like a true prince charming.
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