Image Focus

This image is one of the hero images from a campaign I worked on that was a collaboration between three different brands; luxury fashion brand, Ahluwalia, EON and Microsoft. This image was a proud moment for me as not only was I shooting a campaign, but for the first time, I was acting as creative director. I am known for shooting cityscapes and documentary shots on social media, but my goal has always been to shoot big-budget projects with a crew and collaborate with different people and brands.

The photoshoot took place in a space called The Cotton Store, an old cotton mill with lots of different corners to create the illusion of different locations for the shoot. I shot with my Sony Alpha 7R V, which is my workhorse for photos. I love the camera. The 61 megapixel sensor means I have the flexibility to use the images wherever I need to, from social media to large prints; the level of detail is just beautiful. And the AI technology within the body is outstanding, especially how it works with the Eye AF. The tracking is so fast that when I am working under time constraints and I need to take a huge variety of shots, it gives me extra confidence knowing that the camera is supporting me.

As so many brands were involved, we needed to have a lot of different people involved in the project, all of whom worked from different perspectives. I was working as the creative director and photographer, as well as shooting some behind-the-scenes photos and videos. My job was to ensure everyone was aligned with the same vision.

I shot with the FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM II lens, and the light was a mixture of natural light through a large window, mixed with some constant light, just to boost it. I love using the lens when I need to be flexible due to needing to take various shots in different locations within a confined space.

This image is my favourite from the day because I feel that everything fell together at this point. The vision of the three brands is captured seamlessly through this one image. I love the composition and how the colour of the clothes and the scene complement each other so well. When I started the day, my anxiety was through the roof as so much preparation and teamwork had gone into this project. To see it all come to fruition so perfectly made me proud.

Working with brands who are championing sustainability and allowing me to execute their vision was really empowering. Ahluwalia is an amazing company that works with recycled materials, people send in their unwanted clothes, which are then repurposed and made into end-fashion garments. They work with EON, a company that create digital IDs for items of clothing, which allows customers to see the journey of their clothing item including how it was made, where the materials were sourced from, how to care for the garment and how to recycle it. Finally, Microsoft’s Azure software helps the workflow. The whole campaign brought to life the circular nature of fashion in engaging and enriching imagery.