āThe most famous photographs I have done of Michael is the one with his shoes on point ā a close up shot ā itās just above the ankles, his shoes just above the ankles. That photograph, it took me three weeks on the road to get that photograph because Michael would hit that pose at different points of the stage when he felt it. So I would talk to him and go āMichael, manā, ā this is another thing ā I pre-visualize the photograph. You have to see a picture in your head. After seeing Michael perform, you know which is the most iconic, you know which symbolizes him more and how individually new he is, is when he goes on point, when he goes on point with his shoes. That was in my head so I decided Iām going to capture that shot and I didnāt want it with his whole body, I only wanted the shoe. And I wanted you to feel the impact of the weight where as the show hit the floor, it was really important. That was in my head and I was going after a shot. If youāre shooting a performer you want to see whatās their signature move? What really distills and boils down their style? Then you want to say okay, what is the best position for me to capture that signature move? I pre-visualized it and had it in my head. I wanted to make a photograph that was really symbolic.ā Todd Gray on his most iconic photo of Michael
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