I am a portrait photographer.

I love making simple, beautiful photographs.

I can make anyone look good.

I studied law at university in New Zealand. During my second year of law school I had my first photograph published in a magazine. By my final year I was being commissioned by national magazines to shoot portraits. After graduation I left for London to start a career as a photographer. If photography didn’t work out I could always go back to law. It worked out.

I have photographed assignments in many countries including Ireland, Italy, France, Russia, Germany, Hungary and Switzerland. I’ve shot inside the Kremlin and 10 Downing Street.

One day I imagine I will sit down and work out how many people I have photographed. It is somewhere in the thousands. Often the person is nervous or not used to being photographed. It’s my job to put the person at ease, while working out how they will look their best on film. On an editorial or corporate shoot there’s usually not much time, so I have to work quickly. When I shot Congressman Charlie Rangel on a rainy day in Harlem I had less than four minutes from the first frame to the last – the camera records the time of exposure so I was able to check afterwards. He loved the photograph and it ended up appearing on the cover of his autobiography.

My studio is in my home in Hartsdale, NY.

I am a perfectionist when it comes to my prints. Each image usually takes an hour of retouching. Then many prints are made in order to arrive at the perfect print. It’s not a quick or cheap process, but the results are worth it.

I am a member of the Advertising Photographers of America, Editorial Photographers, the American Society of Media Photographers, and ASMP's New York Chapter Board.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

2006 "Biting into the Big Apple," Simon James, F2 Freelance+Digital magazine, December 2006

(Pages reproduced with the kind permission of F2 Freelance+Digital magazine)

2003 “Picture Perfection,” Ben Watson, NZ News UK, May 7, 2003.
2000 “From Lawyer to London Lensman,” Louise Cunningham, NZ News UK, August 2, 2000.
1999 “Flying High,” Chris Fogarty, NZ Sunday Star Times, December 12, 1999.

EXHIBITIONS

2003 New Zealand Landscapes, May 2003, New Zealand High Commission, London

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS

General Member, American Society of Media Photographers

Member, Advertising Photographers of America

Member, Editorial Photographers

LINKS