Portrait of a rising actor, featured on BBC News ahead of the 2026 film release.
Featured on the BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8jg1jd3knvo
Overview
This session came about through a genuine connection rather than a formal brief. A few months earlier, I'd won a photography competition run by Fujifilm UK and UK Shooters — and James was part of a cinematic group shot I captured at that event. We stayed in touch, and when the time came to create headshots ahead of his role in "Masters of the Universe", it made sense to work together.
The portrait from this session was later featured on the BBC News website, credited directly on the published image — one of those moments that reminds you why the work matters.
The Session
The brief was simple: create images that felt cinematic and real — portraits that reflected the weight of the role James had landed, without tipping into anything theatrical or overdone.
We shot in a private London studio, just the two of us. I used precise, directional lighting to shape the face and give the images depth — the kind of approach that sits closer to film photography than traditional headshots. The goal was presence over polish. Something that would hold up on a screen or a page.
Impact
One of the hero images was picked up for a BBC News feature ahead of the film's official release — giving James a significant platform at exactly the right moment. Seeing the image published and credited was a quiet but meaningful milestone.
Behind the Lens
Some of the best shoots start long before the camera comes out. Winning the Fujifilm competition opened a door — but it was the conversation that followed that led to this session. No mood boards, no lengthy brief. Just a shared understanding of what the images needed to do, and the trust to go and make them.
This is the kind of work I find most meaningful — portraits built on a real connection, with a clear purpose. From a competition win to a BBC feature, it's a reminder that the best creative relationships tend to start somewhere unexpected.
