Britney Spears is ‘in talks’ to reunite with celeb photographer who helped her shed her good girl image in VERY sultry 2004 shoot to mark 20 years since the iconic images… as he reveals popstar is ready to ‘reinstate her legacy’

Britney Spears could be planning an epic comeback for 2024 as 'negotiations are underway' to reunite with the man responsible for one of her most famous photo shoots.

Award-winning photographer Markus Klinko collaborated with Britney, now 42, in 2004, capturing several sultry snapshots of the pop star, which were then used to promote her Onyx Hotel Tour in conjunction with the release of her Grammy Award-winning album In The Zone.

Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, Markus has now revealed he's setting the wheels in motion and will hopefully get the singer back in front of his camera to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the memorable shoot, which saw Britney ditch her 'good girl' look. image once and for all.

“Negotiations are underway with our team for an art project in honor of 20 years,” Markus explains. 'We have put out that proposal, some of my people are talking to her people about it. Let's see, she's not that active right now.”

Markus Klinko photographed the pop star in 2004 and took some sultry photos of her in bed

The images were used to promote Britney's Onyx Hotel Tour in conjunction with the release of her Grammy Award-winning album In The Zone

Markus, 62, is an award-winning photographer who has also collaborated with the likes of David Bowie and Beyoncé

The 62-year-old – who has also photographed David Bowie and Beyoncé – wants to 'restore Britney's legacy' after a rather difficult time for the mother-of-two.

Not only was Britney locked up in a 13-year conservatorship — which expired in 2021 — she also split from her husband of 14 months, Sam Asghari, in August.

Aside from her explosive memoir, the pop superstar has largely stayed out of the spotlight in recent years, eschewing red carpets and live performances, opting instead to keep fans updated via her Instagram account, where she often shares videos of herself dances.

Referring to the “magical quality” of the photos he took of Britney, Markus said: “I'm not saying this to show off, this is just purely based on the numbers, but that photo shoot became the best-selling merchandising campaign for a woman. artist.'

In addition to being used to promote Britney's Onyx Hotel Tour, some of the images were later used for magazine covers, including Vanity Fair. Beauty brand Elizabeth Arden has also licensed it, advertising two of Britney's fragrances: Fantasy and Midnight Fantasy.

Commenting on what it was like working with the Grammy winner almost two decades ago, Markus said: 'When I worked with Britney in 2004 – and I can only judge her at that time – she was extremely intelligent, extremely responsible and very, very collaborative. She made all the decisions on the spot with me.

'Britney was accompanied by her father and her manager and the usual entourage, but they completely stayed out of it. They went into a room and played cards. We're talking about 2004, that's Britney, way before the crisis, the crisis and stuff like that.”

When asked how he thinks the Gimme More hitmaker would like to work now and if she would still be in control, Markus replied: 'No doubt. I am very curious. I think, yes, I would be very optimistic that it could be an even better photo shoot than the one in 2004.”

Markus described the singer as “extremely intelligent” and “extremely responsible” when they worked together 20 years ago

The mother of two has stayed out of the spotlight in recent years, but is very active on Instagram and often posts videos of herself dancing

During the stunning 2004 shoot, Britney ditched her 'good girl' image once and for all

He also confirmed how much money he can make from the images today, adding: “Britney photos cost around $15,000. These photos go up in price because they are limited edition, as the edition is almost sold out. They increase in price as the edition resells. So when there are only four left, when there are only two left, collectors start offering a lot more money.”

Markus went on to say that some of his photos of legendary singer Bowie can sell for as much as $200,000, and revealed that singer The Weeknd even owns one.

He considers the late Ziggy Stardust and Britney some of his “best collaborators” and said he would “probably get Beyoncé involved as well.”

“I would say, you know, the three Big Bs: Bowie, Beyoncé and Britney,” he added.

In fact, Britney is the one who contacted Markus after seeing the footage he shot of Destiny's Child star Beyoncé for her solo album Dangerably in Love.

Markus' memorable images of Britney became the best-selling merchandising campaign for a female artist

'Britney contacted me through her stylist team. She had a few stylists who worked very closely with her and they contacted me and said Britney wanted to work with me based on the Beyoncé album cover that came out a few months earlier in the summer of 2003, and so a lot of musicians and Based on that, labels wanted to work with me,” Markus explains.

Recently, Markus has been working on a project called The Angel Factory, in collaboration with Emerald green laserwhich explores the phenomenon of plastic surgery and society's 'obsession with looking great and having perfect features and bodies'.

“The Angel Factory series is all about staying young, anti-aging, the health components of plastic surgery and all that. Think of Kim Kardashian… so it's actually part of the reason I chose this series, because it ties in so closely with the cult of celebrity,” Markus said.

“Our society has essentially turned celebrity culture into a religion. I think our society has replaced religion with celebrity culture to some extent. Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé are our Greek goddesses of the day, and this is very interesting. I just hold up a mirror to society, I don't judge.'