The portrait photograph is said to distill the sitter’s essence. The photographer’s role is to divine the subject’s character and present the truth to the audience in one immaculate shot.

Talk of the ‘decisive moment’, or of capturing the sitter ‘off-beat’, only serve to strengthen the sense that there is only one all encompassing truth. In reality, portraiture does not work like this.

There is no one truth, there is no one defining image, no one decisive moment.

Today’s sitters understand the power of the image and use this to make an impact on what is revealed.

Who’s framing who?

What portraiture fails to conceal, however, is the relationship between photographer and subject.

It is their tale of reaction, intuition and psychology. As the story of the subject influences the photographer, the stories of those behind the camera influence the images created.

The photographer is in every way a part of the image- as visible as the sitter. The photograph is a documentation of their meeting, and it is their combined story.

I am visible by my intervention and timing. I don’t know what I’m searching for until after I’ve taken it. Subconsciously I select facets of the subjects persona that resonate. The subject is my medium through who I collide and connect. Both our personalities are exposed.

I am the biographer of these moments.