From 2007 to 2011 I worked regularly with EP Magazine, which specialised in the hospitality industry, shooting their editorial portraits. The commissions took me all over London and occasionally further afield and included visiting Buckingham Palace on three separate occasions, getting to have tea at The Ritz (albeit, in the staff kitchen in the basement), going green with envy over Sir Terence Conran’s riverside penthouse and having Albert Roux wave a baguette in my face!
Not only did this contract give me a fantastic introduction into the hospitality industry, it was also a great learning curve for me as a photographer. When I first got hired by EP, I was only two years into my professional career, so being thrown in the deep end was great for a rookie. Almost all the portraits were shot between 5 and 15 mins and, given the limited time and space, I often worked with one simple flash gun and never had a chance to pre-recce the location.
So if you hire me for a shoot now, and wonder why I say ‘I’m not worried’ when you tell me about your light, space or time constraints, it’s because I’ve had plenty of practice….
