The day the camera loved us: Five women tell the poignant and surprising stories behind their favourite photos

I'd given birth a month before

Jilly Johnson, 60, is a former model, actress and novelist. She has one daughter and four stepsons and is married to Ashley Brodin, a textile manufacturer. They have 11 grandchildren and live in Hertfordshire. She says:

On a sunny day in September 1975, I hopped into a London studio ready for my first photo-shoot after the birth of my daughter, Lucy.

I was just 21 and though I had put on a textbook two stone, my body had just popped back.

Lucy had been born a month earlier and fortunately by the time of the photo-shoot I’d lost the weight I’d gained.



Glowing: Jilly Johnson, now 60, posed for this photo (right) just a month after the birth of her daughter Lucy



I hadn’t even for a moment considered not going back to work — for a start, I had modelling jobs booked that simply couldn’t be cancelled.

But it was more that being a mother and being independent made me feel for the first time that I had grown up.

Though I had married two years earlier, at the age of 19, as a young model I had always felt callow.

Looking back, I can see how I was seduced by the glamorous lifestyle. I became swept along by the celebrity of it, but, truthfully, I always felt vulnerable and as if I needed anchoring.

'Motherhood gave me a new-found glow and a confidence I quite adored'

All of that changed when I had Lucy. Motherhood gave me purpose and routine. I had someone who really depended on me.

And despite all the many demands of being a working mother, it made me feel stronger than ever.

I became more opinionated and developed a sense of myself that had been lacking in my early years. I grew up.

When I look back on this picture, that is what I remember: not just a young woman in her prime — though I have to confess I do believe I look quite well — but my beautiful one-month-old daughter, who was at home.

And how motherhood gave me a new-found glow and a confidence I quite adored.

That is the beauty unseen in this picture. But it is what I always think when I look back on it.

Boy who had a crush on me

Esther Rantzen, 73, is a writer and broadcaster. She is a widow and has three children and one grandchild. She says:



The year was 1962 and I was 22. I had just started working as a trainee studio manager for the BBC.



This picture was taken by one of my fellow trainees — I think he may have had a crush on me.

I sent this picture to Anglia Television, who were advertising for a children’s presenter.

Hopeful: Esther Rantzen, now 73, describes this photo of her 22-year-old self (right) as 'full of optimism'

It nearly worked: I told some toddlers the story of Red Riding Hood and made them laugh a lot — too much for the grim lady in charge of the programme. I was pipped at the post by a Norland nanny.

Despite my failure, this picture always makes me smile because it looks so happy — not beautiful in the conventional sense, but full of optimism and hope.



The truth is I was in a desperate battle with my weight (note how I am carefully covering my double chin with my hands). I was a generous size 14, tipping the scales at over ten stone, and was always on a diet.

My teeth aren’t quite as prominent as they are now; these days I am long in the tooth.

'I t looks so happy — not beautiful in the conventional sense, but full of optimism and hope'



My hair is still naturally thick and glossy. I am naturally a brunette, though during That’s Life! I bleached it to the obligatory streaky blonde the cameras prefer.

I was briefly a redhead when I took part in Strictly Come Dancing, until I decided to save myself the time and expense of hair dyes. At the age of 73 I’m brunette again.



I know behind that toothy smile lie so many unanswered questions: Would I ever be good at my job?

Would I find someone I could love, who would love me?



So I keep this picture on my computer to remind myself that my dreams did come true: a wonderful trio of children; a long marriage with my soul-mate, Desmond; challenging, fascinating work; and a grandson.



If I could meet this girl again, I’d tell her to keep on smiling. Everything would turn out fine.

At my most sexually confident

Sexually confident: Tamasin Day-Lewis describes this pink dress as 'eye-catching but not girly'

Tamasin Day-Lewis is a documentary film-maker and writer of more than a dozen cookery books. She’s in her 50s, divorced, has three children and lives in Somerset and the West of Ireland. She says:

The pink dress says exactly where I am now. It’s a vibrant summer raspberry pink, sexy yet restrained, clingy, sculpted to accentuate waist and shoulders, without being unsubtle.

It’s eye-catching, but not girly. Flirty yet demure.

And though it was taken by a professional, I’m confident this is how I look in an unvarnished sense: there was no hairstylist or make-up wizardry.

I had spent two days in the kitchen baking tarts for my new book, and the photographer turned up at 10.30pm, propped himself up against the kitchen wall and reeled off half a dozen frames.

All my humour, life, experience and sexual confidence are reflected naturally.

If I seem perhaps cocky, then it is not intentional. It has taken me four decades and countless unflattering photographs to find a picture I feel happy with.

I even modelled for a time, posing for top photographers and magazines, but I never enjoyed it as I didn’t feel those pictures looked like me. But with age I’ve developed the confidence to be sexual.

Of course, I still feel insecure about my body, but with age comes acceptance. At each stage of life we feel secure about some bits of our body and looks and insecure about others.

Making the best of ourselves is something we decide to do or reject, thinking it is superficial and unimportant.

Author: Ms Day-Lewis has written more than a dozen cookery books, including 'food you can't say no to' (right)



I think it’s a pretty serious business as it has a huge impact on our happiness and how we see the world and want it to see us.

Paying yourself the self-respect of looking your best, dressing your best, is a mood enhancer and fun.

Our clothes and hair and look echo our different moods and we face the world with more confidence.

I danced away my broken heart

Jessica Fellowes, 39, is an author and writer. She lives with her husband Simon, son George and stepchildren in Oxford-shire. She says:

A few years ago, I hailed a taxi in London’s Notting Hill and phoned my then boyfriend.

Heartbroken: Jessica Fellowes feels this photo of her newly-single self captures a moment of exuberance

I was on my way to a wedding, preparing to watch two of my oldest friends pledge to each other for life, and I had realised it was over between us.

He had known, too, and understood my reasons. We were both heartbroken.

Meaningful: Mrs Fellowes says the photos she loves best are the ones when she knows she was happy

I arrived at the register office fighting back the tears and as the vows were said I pinched my leg hard, so as not to be overcome by sobbing.



But then the combination of the sympathy of friends, a glass or two of champagne, the celebratory atmosphere of a wedding and great music showed me that life could not only be good again, but wonderful.



This picture caught that moment of sheer exuberance.

Moments of giddy happiness are rare, but fortunately, those times they happen are often immortalised — birthdays, weddings, the birth of a child.

Merely looking at them brings memories and feelings flooding back.

The photos I love best have nothing to do with how good I look, but are about capturing the times when I know I was happy.



I love this one the most because it was a time when simple ingredients — friends, music and dancing — made me joyful, despite my broken heart.



I knew then, and this picture reminds me, that as long as I have those things, I’ll always be OK, no matter what life throws at me.

My body was the best it's ever been



Sharron Davies, 51, is a former Olympic silver medallist swimmer and is now a BBC sports presenter. She lives near Bath with her children Elliott, 20, Grace, 15, and Finley, six. She says:

Given the chance to go back in time, this is where I would travel to.



It was just after the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and I was at the peak of my physical fitness.

Fit: Sports presenter Sharron Davies says she was 'at the peak' of her physical fitness in this photo (right)



I didn’t have a partner or children, so it was a wonderfully selfish and carefree time.



The photographer wanted me to climb to the 10m diving board and stand close to the edge.

Swimmers aren’t renowned for their sense of balance, so it was a bit hairy, but it’s a fantastic shot.



My body was the best it’s ever been. Having said that, I’m still the same size — size ten jeans and size 12 on top — but everything was much more taut.



' It was just after the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 and I was at the peak of my physical fitness'

I was training four hours a day and hadn’t had children. It doesn’t matter how much you fight against it with diet or exercise, by the time you’ve hit your 50s gravity has taken its toll.



With each pregnancy, your skin stretches like an elastic band and it’s never going to ping back to what it was.



One thing has improved in my appearance since this shot was taken: my hair. Spending hours in a chlorinated pool meant my blonde hair was always dry and brittle.



If I could go back in time to visit the girl in this picture, I’d say simply to enjoy being 30. You’re old enough to be taken seriously, but young enough to play the fool.





