I love the power of collaboration between creative people, there are millions of instances where this happens everyday. But, if I was to highlight one from history that recently caught my eye, it was the working relationship between Paul McCartney and photographer Iain Macmillian. They created the iconic image of the Beatles crossing the road for their Abbey Road album cover.

Shot in a few hurried minutes in August 1969 outside Abbey Road studios. The photograph may have been taken in a flurry, but the understanding of the idea between McCartney and Macmillan was crystal clear.

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The idea came from Paul (see image above), who sketched the aerial view and album cover layout on a piece of paper a few days prior to the shoot. MacMillan added a more precise rendering of Paul’s idea, you can see it in the top right corner.

Paul and Iain knew what they were doing and worked hard to get what they wanted. The shots that didn’t make the cut, help frame the chosen one, that’s what makes it so great I reckon. They developed a beautiful solution which was the combination of expertise and creativity to bring the idea to life.

If you like the beauty of ideas and collaboration let’s chat - I work with brands and do just that. Or we could chat about the Beatles, happy to do either one! 😀