Charlotte Rutherford on achieving her life goal: photographing the Backstreet Boys

Date
29 August 2017

Photographer Charlotte Rutherford is your go-to-gal for a 90s-inspired, slightly naff but a very polished photoshoot or music video. Her aesthetic and style means she was the ideal choice for the Backstreet Boys cover of Paper, and the results are, as you’d expect, nostalgic and brilliant.

“So, this issue of Paper was ‘The Vegas Issue’! They shot a bunch of celebs doing residencies in Vegas including J-LO, Mariah and Ricky Martin,” Charlotte tells It’s Nice That. “They asked if I wanted to shoot Backstreet Boys and of course I lost my mind, I’m a mega fan! There was a lot of back and forth with dates etc, but that’s to be expected. I kind assumed it wasn’t going to happen though because it’s literally my life goal!”

On prepping ideas for Charlotte’s dream commission she explains: “We wanted to do shoot something a bit tongue in cheek but still HOT. So we created a kind of Miami Vice sexy dad Vegas swag pad.” The final images are exactly that, super shiny curtains in colour palettes that match outfit choices, wind machines, plastic blow up chairs, sweets, glitter, and some seriously impressive posing.

Meeting your heroes of any kind is a weird mix of nerves and excitement, and Charlotte was doing much more than a meet and greet, spending the day shooting and directing the band. However, AJ, Nick, Kevin and Brian wouldn’t let her down would they? “Backstreet Boys arrived and were legit the nicest people I have ever shot and got the job done super quick. Some of the shots were a bit of a motion blur because I could not keep still as I was too pumped (but that adds authenticity and ‘vibe’ right?)”

Additionally, one of the best parts of this dream come true commission is that Charlotte even got to see the Backstreet Boys do what they do best. “I also got to see them perform! Which was insane! They did full dance routines to 20 songs, it was so emotional! So basically, shout out to Paper for making my dreams come true and shout out Backstreet Boys for being the best boy band ever in existence.”

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Charlotte Rutherford: Backstreet Boys for Paper

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Charlotte Rutherford: Backstreet Boys for Paper

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Charlotte Rutherford: Backstreet Boys for Paper

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Charlotte Rutherford: Backstreet Boys for Paper

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Charlotte Rutherford: Backstreet Boys for Paper

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Charlotte Rutherford: Backstreet Boys for Paper

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Charlotte Rutherford: Backstreet Boys for Paper

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Charlotte Rutherford: Backstreet Boys for Paper

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About the Author

Lucy Bourton

Lucy (she/her) is the senior editor at Insights, a research-driven department with It's Nice That. Get in contact with her for potential Insights collaborations or to discuss Insights' fortnightly column, POV. Lucy has been a part of the team at It's Nice That since 2016, first joining as a staff writer after graduating from Chelsea College of Art with a degree in Graphic Design Communication.

lb@itsnicethat.com

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