Konnichi-wassup!?

"Some of us are afraid of what we can become while others are afraid of what they could become."

All About Me

What got you into media, how did you start?
Film is how I started while working for an production company called The Jump Off when I was in my first year of uni in 2006. I learned how to film and edit video content first. After I graduated (in law I might add) I picked up photography because it was cheaper than buying the film equipment. Being able to do both is not a skill every media person can do so I'm very lucky.

Photography was purely a hobby for about 10 years. It was Covid that really spring boarded me into self employment. It was a time of my life when I was questioning what I was doing with my life, wanting to not have regrets and have more value in what I spent my time doing. I had a success law career but it wasn't enough. I then attended an online business course and realised it wasn't as difficult as I had presumed. August 1st 2020 was my first day being self employed and I haven't looked back since, even doing work for my old law firm, previous colleagues and being recommended to others. Imagine below is me during covid doing a live stream from my living room.

What inspired you to specialise in candid photography?
When I’m photographing in this style, I feel like I work for the MI5, and being incognito haha. It’s truly an honour capturing people being their authentic natural selves, freezing a particular moment in time that no one else sees or is looking out for. Photographing in this way is also very challenging and I find it mentally stimulates me, being responsive in any situation to capture in the moment shots as sometimes once that moment is gone, it’s gone forever, and you cannot recreate them.

How do you approach capturing candid moments vs posed?
When capturing candid photos, I normally use my telephoto lens, which is a super long lens which allows me to get close without physically being close to the subject, which allows me to capture those authentic beautiful moments as most people don’t know I’m photographing them, which is what I want! I try to blend into the background as much as possible and not disturb the event/moment as much as possible, constantly observing my surroundings looking for those perfect moments in time and anticipating genuine interactions, whether that is at a wedding, conference, meeting etc.

For posed shots, I work with the subject to create a relaxed environment so that posed shots look as comfortable and natural as possible. Which is super important otherwise clients look like deer in headlights. I’ll also guide the subject in how to pose or move so that there are a variety of images to choose from.

Fun fact about you?
I’m an avid boxer, won my first white collar fight in Sept 2023 – I’m not intending to start a fight career, it was also a goal of mine to do and see how I would be in a boxing ring. Winning it was such an amazing accomplishment. I’m also an avid gym goer and my next goal is running a 10k (I don’t like running) current PB is 7k and to incline leg press 200kg – currently on 160kg!

How do you keep yourself inspired and creative in my work?
I try to involve myself in passion projects, these are projects that are normally at a photographer’s expense or a collaboration with little to no budget, but it’s a way to push creative boundaries, try out new things and experiment with ideas.

Lighting – what do you prefer natural or artificial?
Being a candid photographer naturally means I prefer natural lighting and I try to stay away from artificial lighting as much as possible. However, my preference is simply about natural lighting changes minute by minute and it’s another challenge to overcome in any given moment and you can create some timeless content that you simply cannot recreate with artificial lighting.

What is your favourite photograph and why?
This MMA image is my favourite because it was so spur of the moment (as you can imagine the fast-passed environment) that I was simply at the right place, at the right time and there's so much emotion being expressed.

Fav part of photography work?

Working with amazing people. Every person I work with or the people I meet at conferences are incredible, everyone has their unique stories and I’ve been privileged enough to share in their stories or hear about their amazing lives. Also love working with women in business who are shy and after a shoot they turn into a bossbabe!

What is the message/emotion you hope viewers take from my photos?

Has to be authenticity. In a world where everyone is fake, there’s filters on everything and people want to show their ‘best’ sides, I love photographing things as they are and finding the beauty that people take for granted or they have lost because of what society tells us is beautiful.

Are there other types of subjects you like photographing?
Yes, I LOVE animals however this is probably where I get to simply have fun in photography as I've yet to get a paid animal photography gig!