Pop veteran Cyndi Lauper took charge of her own photo lighting at the red carpet premiere of her Broadway musical Kinky Boots by bringing props to ensure she was snapped in a flattering light.

The Girls Just Want to Have Fun hitmaker, 59, set up a light reflector at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in Manhattan in a bid to soften the harsh camera flashes as she prepared to pose for the paparazzi on Thursday night (04Apr13).

She tells the New York Daily News, "(I started doing that) when I saw the photographs that people take without any light, and it looked bad. And then the fact that if you're gonna take time to be remembered, why not be remembered well and take actually a good photograph?"

Lauper had reason to make the extra effort - she was the toast of the New York theatre industry following the big opening as the play won rave reviews from critics across the board.