Noma Dumezweni

Noma has been cast as Hermione in the stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child which will open in July.

Victoria

Victoria Street from the top of Westminster Cathedral:

Collabo

I was invited to East London Dance to cover Collabo, an annual collaborative and interpretative showcase between performers and choreographers. 

Danny Sapani

Publicity photos for actor Danny Sapani, who recently appeared in Penny Dreadful.

People, Places and Things

Actress Denise Gough, who is appearing in People, Places and Things, photographed for the National Theatre.

Romain Grosjean

F1 driver Romain Grosjean, who was being filmed for Microsoft Lumia: 

Egosurfing

I posted one of my photos of Julia Donaldson recently. I was thinking about when I've searched for my work online (photographers have to keep track of their images), and she always appears on page one. So I wanted to post three of my most Google-friendly* shots. 

For the past four years (at least), when I search my name, the image that's usually on the top line is (a version of) astronaut Tim Peake:

As for viral, one photo from a set I took of War Horse's star, Joey, among the poppies at the Tower of London (Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red) has been everywhere, with thousands of shares and likes on Facebook**:

Finally (drum roll...) my most "shared" photo is from 2006 of two Sphynx cats, Dream-maker and Felicity. They are not only beautiful, but they appear to be kissing. As such, it wins the Internet most days:

*By 'Google-friendly', I usually mean shared. And by shared, I mean infringed, a euphemism for stolen. 

**Alas, the value of a picture credit is zero.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

We took Sion Daniel Young, who plays Christopher Boone, away from the West-End's Gielgud Theatre for a shoot at Paddington Station. In the story, Christopher, who has Asperger's syndrome, makes a difficult journey to London by himself intending to see his mother, but is completely overwhelmed by the rushing commuters, the bustle and the noise. 

This Girl Can

Blue Rubicon commissioned me to photograph some of the ladies featured in Sport England's hugely successful "This Girl Can" campaign (www.thisgirlcan.co.uk), a celebration of active women. Here are a few from the shoots:

Indra

Actress Indra Ove

Seeing past the subject

The discussion about Charlotte Proudman had me thinking. Not about how inappropriate the comment was, nor the misuse of LinkedIn, or sexism. I wondered whether it's even possible to separate a good photograph from a good subject. Not to say the images below are good or not, but to argue that the subject matter often has a bearing on it.

I have photos of John Sergeant and Arlene Phillips on my website. To be quite honest, I'm not sure if they're very particularly strong images, but they do suggest access, which can equate to experience or skill. Hence, portfolio.

Similarly, many sports photographers might have shots of Usain Bolt/Mo Farah/Jessica Ennis/Oscar Pistorius shot from the end of the race track, crossing the finish line and winning the final. Even though these photos are far from unique and possibly not very exciting*, their value is in their fame and recognisability (which comes from newsworthiness). They show how - like the athletes they depict - the photographer is at the very top of his or her profession.

As for newsworthiness, we have etched in our collective consciousness innumerable images depicting great tragedy or joy, and never really consider or care whether they're 'good' from any other viewpoint (technical, artistic, creative etc.), but only see them as records of historic fact, and therefore as powerful photographs.

So: photogenic subjects, famous subjects, newsworthy subjects. These kinds of people blur one's opinion seamlessly: "Is it a 'stunning' LinkedIn image, or is the subject 'stunning'?", "Is it a great portrait, or just a well-known face?", and "Is it a good photo, or just access to some incredible event?"

Most interesting of the three kinds of subjects above is the 'famous': interesting because our cultural, subjective, informed position affects (determines?) how we view images of famous people. And it's very much rooted in its time. That is, it makes all the difference if the viewer knows who the person is, and even their opinion of them. If they don't know them, or at least don't recognise them, their viewing is immediately and irrevocably altered once given this information**. So, back to the title: I dug out some images of (I hope) less-recognisable but nonetheless powerful ladies.

This is someone you would know but probably not recognise:

She's an author, and as for fame, her most well-known book is perhaps only second to Harry Potter. Her work has spawned shows, films, mugs, socks and school bags. Every young-ish parent in the country will own at least a few of her books, and many (myself included) know them off-by-heart. It's Julia Donaldson, author of the Gruffalo.

But is it a good picture? Well, as I've been saying, sometimes it's hard to see past the fame of a person and judge a photograph objectively. In the end - and despite there being only a couple of decent images of Julia online anywhere - she never made my portfolio because I don't think the image is strong enough. 

So much for fame. Next are three leading ladies who are (perhaps?) less-recognised still but nonetheless hugely influential, powerful and successful. We have President of International Markets for Mastercard, Ann Cairns; Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Pearson, Kate James; and Vice-President EMEA for Facebook, Nicola Mendelsohn. All these did make my portfolio - but not with these photos. Other images from the shoots were stronger (please take a look in my corporate and portrait galleries).

Let's assume you don't recognise them, and, unlike with Julia Donaldson, there's no immediate association going on even once named. Does their business or their high position affect your judgment? As it happens, two have appeared in national newspapers fairly recently, so will be recognisable to some. But does it matter? Does it make a difference how you view them?

It comes down to historicism - the extent and angle to which the background to an image influences our opinion. Perhaps we like to think we can be more objective, but there's much more going on here. We can't help but frame our view with external knowledge, a cultural climate, and our personal bias and taste.

*Not unique, since many other photographers are positioned in the same place. And not exciting with respect to a photographer's more creative and/or less newsworthy portfolios. To put it another way, if the images weren't of global sports superstars winning the Olympics, but instead showed (otherwise identical) shots from, say, the second-round heats at the U-21 Commonwealth games, they'd be unlikely to feature in a portfolio. 

**I should add that you can argue it's easier to read a portrait of a famous person. You have some idea who they are, and can judge to what extent the photograph captures and confirms that aspect of their personality. Or indeed, questions it. Success or failure in the portrait is surely tied to this in some respect.

Black and white (two)

The decisive moment (two)

British Gas

Cohn & Wolfe

I was recently commissioned to take some corporate portraits by leading PR agency Cohn & Wolfe. Instead of the usual neutral or white location, the backdrop was a feature wall.

I also took group photos in three locations. According to the metadata, we achieved these in less than 20 minutes! I would usually prefer to spend a little more time... but speed is sometimes more important than polished.

Of the three, I'm not sure which I like best. There is a slightly different feel to the team, depending on the location and setup. The first shot is more professional, the second informal, and the third more organised, somewhat reminiscent of a sports team photo.

James

Photographing the photographer

Portraits of theatre and dance photographer Helen Maybanks. Photographers are typically difficult to photograph: as with shooting friends, you can't use patter, which comes across as fake. Moreover, there's an uncomfortably equal footing to it. It makes one's role in the situation less clear, the relationship (photographer - subject) less defined. Happily, Helen is extremely easy-going. She also has more ideas than I do, yet makes it seem the suggestions and solutions are mine.