Simon (Simonjohn) is a British amateur photographer with a special interest in portraits and lightning. Simon is a big movie fan and Ā his inspiration and ideas come from the big screen. The ideas Simon gets are the ones he want to channel through his images. He simply wants to show his viewers what is going on in his head without any hidden messages, and sometimes this simplicity is enough. Sometimes you donāt need to have a grand explanation to what your photography should mean to its viewers - sometimes itās enough with āthis is what I had in mindā.
Can you tell us about yourself and your background?
Im a 38 year old husband to a beautiful wife and father to 2 beautiful girls. I live in a smallish town in Kent, England. I have been a full time designer for around 12 years, 7 of which were based in London working in the music industry. These days my work is more directed towards travel literature design and promotional print for a company closer to home and of course photography in my spare time.
When did you first think about becoming a photographer?
I suppose I seriously got into taking photographs about 2 years ago, when i purchased my first DSLR, a Canon 1000d. Before then I had a casual interest in taking snaps but nothing more than the occasional celebration or holiday.
Where do you get your photographic inspiration from?
Everywhere and anywhere! Iām a massive movie fan so a lot of what I see on the big screen has an impact on my ideas (especially the sci-fi and fantasy genres) along with the plethora of awesome photographers on websites like Viewbug! Alongside that I could be walking down the street and something will spark my attention and generate an idea, so there really is no set place it stems from for me.
Do you have any influencers?
Yes, Elena Shumilova was my first big influence, when I saw the blog posts of her work they blew me away and I immediately set about replicating her gear, something I later realised wasnāt important but I believe she was the one person that gave me the bug to start taking photographs. Since then Sue Bryce, Felix Kunze, Lara Jade, Brooke Shaden, Paul Apalkin, Annie Leibovitz and Mario Testino have all entered my life and opened me up to new techniques and ideas. Iām also fortunate enough to have a good network of photographer friends on Facebook that are a constant source of inspiration.
What is your favorite subject to shoot?
Portraits without a doubt. I dabbled in landscape, nature, street and other topics early on but always came back to portraits. These days I almost exclusively shoot people.
What is your favorite gear to shoot with?
I shoot with a Canon 5d Mark II, The Canon 135L, The Sigma 35mm Art, and the 50mm 1.8. My Favourite lens is the 135L when i have the space to use it. Alongside that i have studio strobes, reflectors, panels and the general gear you find in most studios.
When you go in one of your travels, what do you take with you? Why?
Apart from the studio gear, I generally take all of the above with me give or take a lens. I should really invest in something more portable but being relatively new to it all, Iām still building up my gear list so Iām sure Iāll get to it at one point! Until then Iām quite happy to lug a small backpack around with me wherever I go.
How do you educate yourself to take better pictures?
Sites like Youtube, Creativelive, Facebook and any forum I can get my hands on. Also just asking other photographers questions! Most of them arenāt monsters and are generally happy to give tips and advice. The good thing about social media is that people arenāt unreachable anymore and if you have a favourite photographer/visual artist you can guarantee theyāll have a Facebook/Flickr/Instagram account that they may or may not respond to you on. It never hurts to ask!
What it is you want to say with your photographs?
I donāt really have a message, I still feel Iām finding my feet with photography and still havenāt found my definitive style. I guess at the moment I just want to share whatās going on in my head and am happy if people take notice.
How do you actually get your photographs to do that?
Given that Iām not trying to convey anything other than whatās going on in my head the challenge for me is to apply that idea through processing or technique. Theres no shortcuts or magic buttonsā¦Iāve been editing images much longer than Iāve been taking them so having that background has certainly helped me achieve this.
B&W or color, what do you prefer and why?
Tricky question. I donāt have a preference, each have their merits and when done correctly either can blow you away!
For more photographs taken by Simon visit his profile and Facebook.
