Where there’s a Rei, there’s a way
Welcome to my online portfolio.
My Background
Despite coming from a family of photographers, I never intended to get into the industry myself. It wasn’t until I entered college and decided to give it a go that I truly fell in love with photography.
There has always been an artist in me fighting to get its ideas out, but nothing else was able to give me that feeling of artistic totality and control that I found behind the lens. With photography I was able to sculpt, draw, create and find meaning and beauty in the things and people all around me.
University gave me the chance to develop my artistic voice, every project an experiment with different styles and subjects matter. I was learning and finding my passion. However it wasn’t until my third year, after being diagnosed with Cervical Cancer, was I fully driven to turn my passion into something truly meaningful.
My final project was completed during my recovery. Inspired by my illness and facing my own mortality, I completed a series which focused on Wabi-Sabi, the Japanese ideal of beauty which identifies the imperfect, the broken and the scarred as containing more beauty and meaning than perfection. The project correlated with my life so perfectly, and I later received a 1st Class Honours degree in Fine Art Photography from the University of Derby.
After leaving University, I began doing portraiture at a local photography studio. I was in charge of the make-over side of the business, working as photographer, organiser and editor. I found that I adored helping those with little confidence discover how beautiful they really were. I loved the people side of the business, and I wanted a chance to spend more time getting to know the clients – really getting the chance to find the best in them. So I decided to go out on my own, becoming a freelancer.
Leaving the studio has given me experiences I would have never had based in one studio – one day I’m in the countryside shooting a wedding, the next I’m in my studio helping a new model find her feet in the morning and capturing the chaos of a product launch in the evening. It’s been an amazing three years and I’m still going strong.
My passion is to find beauty in everything. Whether in fashion, portraiture, products, events or corporate, I want to show how unique we all are, and how that should be embraced.
