Portrait photography is the gentle art of convincing a human being to look natural while doing something they never do naturally: stare straight into a lens and… act normal. It’s a psychological tango where the photographer must coax, charm, distract, and occasionally bribe the subject into forgetting that a giant glass eyeball is studying their every pore.
A friend enjoying the waves on Sandbanks beach
Lighting becomes therapy—soft, flattering, and just bright enough to whisper, “You’re doing great.” Meanwhile, the photographer fires off a dozen shots per second because the perfect expression exists only in a 1/250-second window between “smile too much” and “oh no, now I’m thinking about smiling.”
But in the end, portrait photographers capture something astonishing: a glimmer of the real person behind the practiced face. A spark of truth. A fleeting moment of authenticity. And if they’re lucky, nobody blinks.
People and the sea
The sea, no matter the temperature or season, always brings a smile to people’s faces.
I am part of a sea swimming group based in Poole, Dorset.
We swim all year round, and I take an iPhone into the sea or stand on the shore to capture people’s smiles.
A few of family and friends.
Myself, Jane, Jane and Prince, Nikki Dyer and Zoe and her mountain bike.
