In 2017 we saw Harrodsburg, a documentation of the people and life of Knightsbridge. Aspects of social documentary photography can be seen as a ‘loud’, and ‘brash’ process, the format of taking images at speed, noticing features in the attire of a passerby and capturing it. How do you creatively respond to this process, and what advice can you offer artists wanting to specialise in this style of photography

Harrodsburg is a book (Dewi Publishing, 2016) and there is a documentary film, first broadcast on BBC 4 in March 2017, as part of their series, called What Do Artists Do All Day? Specifically, this documentary was screened as part of BBC’s Photography Season. In this documentary, a crew follows me as I am shooting in Knightsbridge – the images would be used in Harrodsburg, the book.

I’m not really a street photographer I'm a social documentary photographer that mostly works on the streets.
An image can be ‘loud’ or ‘brash’ but to qualify a whole style of photography as such is wrong. Its preconceived in my mind.... already made it up in my head.

You could say that many shots in the Harrodsburg project can be described as ‘brash’ or ‘loud’. That is because the project captures the excesses of a  of society, the uber-wealthy. While it’s unlikely that they would see their lifestyle and consumption patterns as such, my point of view as a social documentary photographer was to offer a particular vision – implicitly a critique.  A lot has been said about “bling” and the unequal distribution of wealth and the huge gap between the have and have nots – which has especially deepened over the past decade. This is all well documented. My work joins that canon of social documentation.

My style of photography then is not about going into people’s faces – it is about making a statement about society. 

It’s social documentary. It is inspired by people and their daily lives. I am interested in human behaviour – interactions and emotions. Inspired by taking a broader story about society . Everyone has their individual take on the world, their unique way of seeing things, and this is my personal vision.

Part of photojournalism is the ability to capture the subject up close. This can be a process some photographers struggle with and the image to present a raw and genuine expression. In what ways would you critique a photojournalists collection/portfolio and what techniques or style particularly stand out to you?

 I can’t say that I spend much time pondering the merits or lack of, of photojournalism. But, I do have admiration for this branch of photography.   There is a lot of merit in photojournalism, in general. I dont really class my self as a photojournalist. I'm a social documentary photographer. So again – I am struggling a bit to answer your question. Why would I critique photojournalism?

I like to turn the ordinary into humorous.  And the themes are usually timely and start with my observation of what is going on at that time in the world.


I cross the themes of my projects and books and try and reflect that as much as possible in my editorial and commercial work too. The clients like that I bring a sense of reality into their commercial space, which means the campaign imagery speaks to the masses. Usually, when people employ me, it’s for my style. I MAKE photographs, not TAKE photographs.

What are the most successful ways a photojournalist can convey a message and story in their work? How might this vary depending on the intended audience for the work?

For me personally, there is an important difference between commercial work and photography as art. One is trying to sell you something. The other is trying to tell you something about the world. Obviously, as an artist, you have more freedom of expression. You create your art and hope that people will follow but you are doing it because you feel you have something to say – not because you want to please an audience (or client).

 As a mentor how would you approach your mentorship sessions with the artist in residence? Your role will provide support on the artist's project during the residency whilst observing their practice as a whole. What would you like to hear from the artist?

What is your point of view; what are you trying to say? What story are you trying to tell?