Portrait // Hollywood actress, Liv Tyler

Liv Tyler photographed for Audi’s magazine. For this commission we had to travel to actors home in North London, where we proceeded to set up a small studio in her living room. She was great company, utterly charming and warm. 

Below is a quick behind the scenes of our set-up; Profoto lights with brollies and painted canvas background from HAPACA studio. There's a sunbounce just on the left of frame acting as a spill-kill and flag for the window light.

Post shoot team snap
 

NEWS // Portrait of Britain exhibition

I was recently very pleased to be included in the British Journal of Photography's 'Portrait of Britain' exhibition which will be displayed throughout the UK during September. I've had two of my images selected for this years exhibition; out of the 8000 entries they chose 100 that made the cut. They will both be displayed at busy commuter hubs and public spaces across the U.K on JCDecaux digital advertising boards such as those in the images above and below - so keep your eyes peeled out for my portraits of Antony Gormley and the artist Mohammed Qasim Ashfaq!

Portrait // Rugby player - Matt Hankin

Matt Hankin, Saracens flanker, photographed at their grounds in North London

Portrait // Author - Mohsin Hamid

This was one of those typical editorial jobs you get assigned to if you shoot for dailies or even weekly publications; very last minute, seat of your pants type stuff. This particular shoot was for the Financial Times and came in a few hours before the shoot; when I got the call I was on a rare day off, covered in mud excavating part of my garden! I dropped what I was doing grabbed my kit and headed out for the job. On the way to the job I was phoned by the publicist to tell me that they were running late and that I would have less than 5 minutes with the subject as he had to go on stage to do a talk. Not what I needed to hear at that moment - but this is the nature of the beast. 

When I finally arrived at the location I had limited time to find somewhere to shoot - the venue did not lend itself and most areas that might have worked were too public and there were queues of people there to see him. Shooting out in the open would have meant people interrupting or standing in the background taking photos - not ideal! I found one small room that offered a glimmer of hope. One of the walls was covered in posters, another was large and magnolia with a giant heavy sofa in front of it and the other had a large mirror and air conditioning unit attached. This was the room I had to make it work in, so I reaaranged what I could and lit it to minimize the distracting background. In the end I had maybe 2-3 minutes with the talent and had to get what I could. 

In the end Mohsin was a charming sitter and somebody I felt I could have had some very interesting conversations with. If you haven't read the 'Reluctant Fundamentalist' or seen the film, I urge you to seek them out. 

Just to give you an idea of the room. Lit with 2x Profoto B2's and brollies.

Portrait // Professor Stephen Hawking

Professor Stephen Hawking photographed in 2015 - had to sit on this for awhile - was great fun to shoot. A little behind the scenes below.

Portrait // Antony Gormley

British artist, Antony Gormley, shot at his London studio for the Financial Times

Portrait // Natalia Vodianova

Natalia Vodianova photographed for the Financial Times. I couldn't help do a quick homage to that photo by Paolo Roversi....

Portrait // Louise Totter for the FT

Designer Louise Trotter photographed in London for the Financial Times.