Edmund de Waal
On a recent agency assignment I was commissioned to photograph ceramicist and author Edmund de Waal at his studio in South London. Edmund has made installations for Chatsworth, Kettle’s Yard, Tate Britain and the Victoria and Albert Museum and is the author of The Pot Book and the bestseller The Hare with Amber Eyes.
Edmund is one of those people you instantly like when you meet them. When I photograph a portrait I always seek to show that persons personality and to portray them in their environment.
On arriving at the studio I saw a sign asking visitors to shut the door as there was puppy loose in the studio … the puppy turns out to be quite a large six month old puppy called Isla. When I met Edmund he was talking on the phone and was obviously having a short break as there was a cup of tea and a half eaten bun in front of him – I immediately decided to use these elements in his portrait.
I felt the images worked well and showed Edmund in a relaxed natural way in the wonderful soft light of his studio. My images and the subsequent interview were printed in a magazine supplement published in 10 provincial newspapers with the pictures made available to another 90 provincial newspapers.
