Although it might seem very obvious, when I heard the phrase “what you do does not define who you are; who you are defines what you do” I had a sudden realisation. For the longest time, I tried to keep the two sides of my craft separate. On the one hand, my commercial work focused on fashion, beauty and portraiture; on the other hand, my personal work dealt with human rights, mental health and national identity. But, the one thing that they both had in common was me. So why was I trying to keep them apart when in reality they are but two sides of the same person?
It’s not that I was ashamed of any of the aspects of my practice. On the contrary, I’m very proud of everything that I have done over the past few years. But I had been advised over and over again to keep those different types of photography separate because clients might get confused. According to my advisors, clients only hire you when they see that you do only the exact thing that they are looking for, and when you can be put in a niche. The truth is that I have never been busier since I decided to show in my portfolio who I really am.
It was no secret that I am interested in social issues like immigration, discrimination and human rights. I have been writing about them for years in my blog. But if you saw my portfolio, all you could see was my flashy fashion, beauty and portraiture work. If you wanted to know what I was doing in my personal projects, you had to go to my blog or ask me to see those images. It didn’t make sense.
And then I heard that phrase. Who I am informs my work. Who I am. Who am I?
“I am JC, and I’m a London based photographer. I work commercially in Fashion, Beauty and Portraiture with clients that include designers, production companies and beauty brands. In my personal work, I deal with the Social Issues that matter the most to me like Human Rights, Mental Health and National Identity.
Before becoming a photographer, I was a Project Manager for 20 years, and all the skills learnt in my previous industry help me to deliver my photography projects to my clients successfully.
I also write a Blog about my experiences working in the Creative Industries where I talk about the industry and the business of photography through interviews to other creatives, features on fellow photographers and opinion pieces on social issues.
I am a member of the Association Of Photographers - AOP, of Humanists UK - an organisation that campaigns for Human Rights (LGBTQ+ rights, Women’s reproductive rights and the rights of non-religious people), and of PhotoAid - an organisation that links NGO’s in need of photographers with photographers willing to volunteer their time for the causes that they believe in.
Ultimately, my goal is to use my work as a photographer to help make this a Better World.”
There, that sounds like a complete version of me.
Knowing who you are and what your work is about takes you a long way and makes telling your story so much easier. Getting to know yourself, not easy at all. For me, it has been 45 years in the making, but now, when I see my work, I can see myself in every single one of my images.
Photo credit: behind the scenes by Tori Dance.
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