Portrait of David Ward a bespoke tailor who has spent his career at some of the most prominent houses on Savile Row including, Henry Poole & Sons, Norton & Sons, Huntsman and Hardy Amies.
Today David works for himself and has a studio on Savile Row, which is where this portrait was taken. I’m oddly proud of this portrait, taken in a relatively small space, with the mirror in the background (and hence the reflection of David), and window and shaft of light behind him. The challenge with this portrait was the small space and the mirror; while working in a room with mirrors can be tricky, there is at least one frame in this roll in which my left elbow makes an appearance, I try and incorporate them into the composition somehow as they offer depth in usually otherwise shallow environments. I find they are, generally, also a good source of natural reflected light.
I completed this portrait session of David Ward with a 50mm prime lens, trying four different angles taking 14 frames in 1 minute 40 seconds. I type this with bemusement at how I used to work; arrive, shoot, and leave in no time flat. I used to work by a mantra influenced by my impression of social media and digital of photograph, edit and post it on my social channels as fast as possible in order to get eyeballs, now.
My working routine today, of time investment and relationship building, is the antithesis of yesteryear.
