The photographer behind a haunting image of a couple seen lying on the ground during the Las Vegas attack as others fled the scene in the background has revealed that he saw them get up and run away moments after he captured the picture.

The image showed the woman with her eyes closed with a pained expression on her face, while a man lay on top of her touching her cheek during the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival in the city.

At the time, it was not known whether the woman was injured or had been killed during the shooting, but David Becker, the Getty Images photographer who took the picture, told Time he saw them get up and run off.

“I don’t know if she was injured, but he was very clearly shielding her with his body and protecting her,” he said.

Mr Becker had been capturing Jason Aldean’s performance when he heard popping sounds. A security guard told him the sounds were from firecrackers – he did not realise at first that it was the sound of shots.

Stephen Paddock shot and killed 58 people on Sunday night when he opened fire on the festival crowd, injuring more than 500 others. He committed the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People scramble for shelter at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A handout photo released via Twitter by Eiki Hrafnsson (@EirikurH) showing concertgoers running away from the scene (C) after shots range out at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Eiki Hrafnsson Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People lie on the ground at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A man in a wheelchair is taken away from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People stand on the street outside the Mandalay Bay hotel near the scene of the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Paul Buck Las Vegas shooting – in pictures FBI agents confer in front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting during a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas police run by a banner on the fence at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures An injured person is tended to in the intersection of Tropicana Ave. and Las Vegas Boulevard after a mass shooting at a country music festival Ethan Miller/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Metro Police officers pass by the front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip AP/John Locher Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A cowboy hat lays in the street after shots were fired near a country music festival in Las Vegas Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas Metro Police and medical workers stage in the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard South after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Sheriff Joe Lombardo (2-R) speaking during a press briefing in the aftermath of the active shooter incident on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA

Once Mr Becker saw a lot of people “panicking and running”, crying and calling people on their phones, he started to realise what was happening and began taking pictures.

The severity of the situation did not become clear until he started looking through his pictures in the media tent where he had been filing earlier images of the concert.