Portraits of English Michelin– starred chef Tom Aikens, who earned two stars aged 27 years old, on his rooftop garden at his eponymous restaurant at 43 Elystan Street, London.
When I went to the restaurant, none of the staff knew I was coming and were not expecting a photographer; I almost left. Luckily Chef Tom appeared and confirmed I had been asked to take his portrait. I got the impression that Tom Aikens and the restaurant were busy (when are restaurants not in a state of organised chaos?) and I decided that there would be no utility in hanging around trying to get every conceivable angle and that a quick session would be appreciated. Tom mentioned his rooftop garden which grabbed my attention; who else has a rooftop garden on top of their restaurant in Chelsea? Why take a portrait in the restaurant when the garden has been offered?
I started with frame 001 (with the tiles in the background) but it did not show the garden. Frame 002 showed the residential buildings, giving an indication of the location of the restaurant, but was too wide; Chef Tom is too small a compositional element and seems incidental. Hence the zoom into frame 003 (portrait orientation) which keeps the buildings and enough elements to suggest a wider garden as opposed to just a few plants while also making Chef Tom the focus being front and centre of the image.
Time from realising 001 was not working to taking 003 was two minutes taking a total of six frames. Today I pride myself on spending time with subjects, building a rapport and establishing a relationship in order to take a meaningful portrait. However I realise this is more important for studio portraits where there are no other visual elements apart from the person. In this instance, with a wider composition to help tell the story there is less focus on Chef Tom’s face. Should I have imposed myself, in a busy situation, and asked for more time to take a variety of portraits including in the restaurant and kitchen?
