Before he became a director, Kubrick spent five years as a photographer for Look magazine, which he joined in 1945 aged 17. While there, he specialised in slice-of-life picture essays that reported on the highs and lows of New York City and its inhabitants

• Through a Different Lens: Stanley Kubrick Photographs is out now from Taschen. An exhibition of his images is at the Museum of the City of New York until 28 October