This photo, by the celebrity photographer Pat Morin, exudes a candid and voyeuristic paparazzi aesthetic, although Morin usually did not take photos consciously in this way. Before the word paparazzi was invented, Morin became famous for contributing to Bardot's early career with his iconic images of Bardot in a bikini at the Bay of Cannes in 1953, producing the first iconic half-naked-in-Cannes image in a shoot staged by director Roger Vadim.
Brigitte Bardot is shown arriving at Rome's Fiumicino Airport for the filming of a Louis Malle film, La Vie Privée. The movie follows the life of a fictional diva and sex icon 'Jill' who due to the pressures of fame and a troubled personal life meets a tragic end. Often overlapping with biographical details of Bardot's own life, the film blurs the lines between reality and fiction. Referring to Bardot's own relationship with the persistent press, the film paints the picture of an ever-growing army of paparazzi willing to cross any line for a shot.
La Vie Privée was met with critical success and public debate grew around the issue of right to privacy, an issue that is still at the forefront today. According to Malle, filming was difficult from the start, Bardot and her co-star Marcello Mastoianni didn't get on and there was a great deal of press intrusion and studio interference. Malle was unhappy with the film and frustrated by the experience of making it apart from the last section shot in Spoleto that he felt had a lyrical quality that transcended the material.