--- description: Danny Clinch photographed the rapper three years before his death title: The Story Behind the Most Famous Photo of Tupac Shakur image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76c42d73bd80f81a/6988a57a0a4a22c26f9cb35b/tupac-facebook.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Story Behind the Most Famous Photo of Tupac Shakur by [Kenneth Bachor](/author/kenneth-bachor/) ## Kenneth Bachor Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 12, 2016 4:10 PM CUT  Danny Clinch by [Kenneth Bachor](/author/kenneth-bachor/) ## Kenneth Bachor Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 12, 2016 4:10 PM CUT Photographer Danny Clinch is known for shooting with musicians that [span a variety of genres](http://time.com/4217349/danny-clinch-grammys/ "undefined"). From Bruce Springsteen and Johnny Cash, to Nas and the Beastie Boys, Clinch is always able to capture a special, often candid, moment. One such portrait – that of the late rapper Tupac Shakur – has gone down in music history as arguably the most famous image of the artist. “It was _Rolling Stone_ magazine and I was thinking to myself, ‘Oh man, if this guy ever blew up, I would have this great photograph,” Clinch tells TIME in a new video interview. “What if this record is so well received that it could end up on the cover of \[the magazine\].” When Clinch’s portrait originally ran in _Rolling Stone_ in 1993, it was for a short profile story. Three years later, on Sept. 13, 1996, when Shakur tragically died after being shot in a drive-by shooting, Clinch’s photo session with the rapper gained much attention, with _Rolling Stone_ running one of the portraits on the cover. Now, 20 years after Shakur’s death, Danny Clinch reflects on his experience working with the rapper. **_Kenneth Bachor_** _is TIME’s associate photo editor, overseeing entertainment and culture. Follow him on Instagram_ [_@kennethbachor_](http://instagram.com/kennethbachor/ "undefined")_._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4486307/tupac-shakur-photo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4486307/tupac-shakur-photo/"},"headline":"The Story Behind the Most Famous Photo of Tupac Shakur","datePublished":"2016-09-12T16:10:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:01:06.662Z","description":"Danny Clinch photographed the famous rapper three years before his death","url":"https://time.com/4486307/tupac-shakur-photo/","keywords":["LightBox","Music","photography","Behind the Photos"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76c42d73bd80f81a/6988a57a0a4a22c26f9cb35b/tupac-facebook.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kenneth Bachor","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/kenneth-bachor/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76c42d73bd80f81a/6988a57a0a4a22c26f9cb35b/tupac-facebook.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"tupac-facebook","caption":"Tupac","creditText":"Danny Clinch","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4486307/tupac-shakur-photo/","name":"The Story Behind the Most Famous Photo of Tupac Shakur"}}]}] ```