Stars in Mary McCartney's eyes

My life has never really been about structure. I think this freedom has always been a theme for my photography. We travelled a lot with our parents — nomadic, happy wanderings. One of my friends used to say I was like a "peace convoy" child.

I took that as a compliment, as it summed up the rather laid-back nature of it all. Being on the move, you gather impressions of multiple places, people and events. Unlikely to see these things again, you retain the mental image, embellish it, even. Such images frame my upbringing while the photographic images I saw were by an inspirational photographer: my mother.

Like many, I used a camera to hide behind, and to develop and discover the world I was faced with. It has given me the ticket to be in social situations without socialising, invaluable when photographing musicians and actors. More importantly, it taught me to look for different angles. I have never been happy just to be in front of a subject, lighting precisely and shooting frame after frame. This process seems to me designed rather than captured. I prefer to trace things back: models backstage, dancers at home, off-guard and visually vulnerable. Images present themselves spontaneously, images that give the viewer an insight into an experience, a career, a life.

From Where I Stand [my book] embodies the way I see things. I would never claim that this was unique but it is deeply personal. I am at my happiest when I have the time to know my subject and to capture the moment that sums up my knowledge of them. In that way, the photos I have taken over the years of Sir Peter Blake and Chrissie Hynde satisfy me greatly. The time we spend together is so rewarding. They let me into their worlds and, in doing so, they seem effortlessly to fall into mine. I don't go into the shoot with visual concepts; the images are co-authored — co-inspired — in the moment by the sitter and myself. This thrills me, every time. If you can capture it, that is what makes a photograph require repeat viewing.

The book is also about my view of the world as influenced by my family. I have included photographs of them as my greatest supporters and as examples of the sitters I know and love most of all. It was difficult to find favourites — there are so many. It is their belief and support, especially that of my father and mother, that have carried me forward for so long.

All photographs and text extracted from Mary McCartney — From Where I Stand, published this week by Thames & Hudson (£19.95). An accompanying exhibition opens at the Michael Hoppen Gallery, 3 Jubilee Place, SW3 (020 7352 3649; michaelhoppengallery.com) on Friday and runs until 20 November and 12 portraits from the book are on display in the National Portrait Gallery bookshop until 10 April, 2011. Mary McCartney will be signing books at Selfridges in Oxford Street, from 6pm-7pm on Friday, and gives a PhotoVoice Lecture on 11 November at South Place Ethical Society, Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, WC1 (photovoice.org)