Paul Natkin

Paul Natkin is widely considered Chicago’s greatest music photographer. The son of a photojournalist, Paul’s career flourished in the heyday of rock & roll as he traveled from show to show, documenting both rising stars and icons of the music industry. A true music fan, Natkin’s passion and workmanlike approach to his trade has made him the photographer to the stars over a four-decade career. He was the official touring photographer for the Rolling Stones, becoming friends with Keith Richards and documenting the North America tour of the New Barbarians. He continues to attend shows and shoot portraits at his studio on Chicago's north side.

The Trope production team worked with Paul Natkin through 2020 and the beginning of 2021 during the Covid-19 shutdown to rescan his collection of original negatives and slide film, meticulously color correcting and retouching each frame to restore and retain its original film quality to every detail. The result is a unique collection of over 150 of Paul’s best images, available on trope.com as a limited Trope Edition series and accompanied by a 288-page monograph titled Natkin: The Moment of Truth.

Paul’s Prints

Throughout my career, I have always – above all else – subscribed to a theory that Henri Cartier-Bresson, a founder of modern photojournalism, set forth as the title of his very influential 1952 book, The Decisive Moment.

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Paul Natkin Interviewed on WGN

Concert photographer Paul Natkin joins WGN’s Bob Sirott to talk about his new book Natkin: The Moment of Truth and how he had the opportunity to tour with The Rolling Stones. He also discusses how he was introduced to photography and the time he was invited to a photo shoot for Bruce Springsteen.

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In the News: Paul Natkin on the Performance Anxiety Podcast

Concert photographer Paul Natkin joins Marc Shea to talk about his new book Natkin: The Moment of Truth. Paul reveals the exact moment he knew he wanted to be a photographer and the serendipitous moment that thrust him into live music photography. He discusses how two months in 1984 changed his life, starting with Prince’s birthday party.

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