David Bailey, who captured the most powerful icons of the 1960s in his photographs, has been made a CBE in the Queen's birthday honours list.

He first became interested in photography while serving in the Royal Air Force, and he started out as an assistant to fashion photographer John French.

His first published pictures appeared in 1960, and from then he became famous for making stars of a new generation of models, including Jean Shrimpton, Catherine Deneuve, who he married for five years, and Penelope Tree.

You adapt to who you're photographing. It's their personality, not mine I want

David Bailey

Whereas models once appeared cold and aloof, Bailey's work gave them a personality, thanks to the close rapport he enjoyed with them. It was considered revolutionary at the time.

"You treat each person as an individual," he said. "You adapt to who you're photographing. It's their personality, not mine I want."

'A knack'

Of Jean Shrimpton, he said: "She was magic and the camera loved her too. In a way she was the cheapest model in the world - you only needed to shoot half a roll of film and then you had it.

Jean Shrimpton: "A natural"

"She had the knack of having her hand in the right place, she knew where the light was, she was just a natural."

One of Bailey's most famous works depicts the Rolling Stones. It features Brian Jones, who drowned in 1969 while under the influence of drink and drugs. He is seen standing slightly apart from the rest of the group.

Bailey continues to work today, with recent subjects including Manchester band Oasis, boxer Naseem Hamed and model Naomi Campbell. But his style of photography remains the same.

"I've always tried to do pictures that don't date. I always go for simplicity," he said.