Ex-Beatles Ringo Starr and George Harrison began writing "Photograph" on a luxury yacht in the South of France in May 1971. Starr had hired a yacht, the "Marala", for the duration of the Cannes Film Festival, after attending Mick Jagger's wedding in St Tropez with his wife, Maureen Starkey. The Starkeys were then joined in France by Harrison and the latter's wife, Pattie Boyd, for the Monaco Grand Prix. This period coincided with Starr's first success as a solo artist, with the Harrison-produced single "It Don't Come Easy", although he continued to focus on his career as a film actor, beginning with a role in "Blindman" (1971).