Ben Roberts

Ben Roberts, 29, graduated from the Arts Institute at Bournemouth in 2006, then moved to London, where he’s been assisting Zed Nelson, as well as taking on a range of clients. He speaks to David Land

“I’m the only left handed person in my family, so I think I had the creative thing going on from the start”, says Ben Roberts. “I liked art at school, and combined it with photography when I got my first camera at 15.

“I grew up in Birmingham, then did a Masters in fine arts at the University of Edinburgh. I got a bit disillusioned with the world of fine art after the course, and was attracted to photography because I felt that, if I had the skills, I could produce a marketable product regardless of who I was.

“Then I went travelling to Australia and New Zealand for two years. I knew I wanted to be a photographer, but didn’t have the technical expertise or knowledge of the industry, so when I returned, I enrolled on a foundation commercial photography course at the Art Institute in Bournemouth.

“Going back to college was a big decision, but I wanted to set myself up for a freelance career. I could have chosen another direction, but I knew I wouldn’t be happy in 10 years’ time if I wasn’t doing photography. I had my doubts, but it turned out to be a great course. Technically, I learned everything I needed to, and the creative and industry tutoring were excellent.

“The work in my final show was on Chinese refugees living in London. Shooting that project was the first time I went out and actually felt as if I was a photographer.

“I knew that I’d move to London when I graduated, even though I was aware that it was saturated with graduates all wanting to be photographers. You could make a good living assisting through a company such as Horseman (linked to Metro). It’s got a digital section, and supplies assistants and equipment for advertising and fashion shoots."

Assisting

“I’m first assistant to Zed Nelson. I started as his second assistant while I was at college. I really liked his work, so kept in touch, and I guess I sprang to mind when his first assistant left. The course encouraged us to assist, which greatly benefited all the students who did it. By the time I left, I’d assisted around nine photographers. It’s important to think who you’re going to assist, because they will affect your attitudes and influence your work.

 “I’ve got a fairly loose arrangement with Zed now, where I work with him one to three days a week, meaning I have time to pursue my own work as well.

“I don’t have a book right now because I don’t need one. My style is still changing, but also online portfolios are becoming the first point of reference. A good website or online presence can open doors, and the potential exposure and discovery is validation of your work.

“I’ve not made any appointments with magazines or with agencies yet. I’m holding myself back, learning from Zed, until I feel ready. If I launch myself now, it’s not going to be as good as it could be in two years’ time. I see my peers doing commissions and think, ‘It could be me’, but I remind myself I’ll do it better if I’m patient.

“I help Zed behind the scenes, researching projects for publications such as The Guardian Weekend and The Sunday Times, while helping on shoots enables me to see how he deals with people, from the public through to editors."

Commissions

“After I’d graduated, I started going to nightclubs, looking for things to shoot. I’d take a studio flash with me, and shoot portraits of people who had some sort of personal style. I shot maybe four of these events, before pitching the work to a magazine in New York called The Fader, (www.thefader.com) which is run by Phil Bicker - who used to do The Face. I sent low res files, explained the project, and asked if they’d be interested in running it. I got a call back the next day, and it ran in Feb 2007.

“It’s hard to categorise what I do. My background is in fine art, but people say I’m a photojournalist. I’ve got projects and images that wouldn’t look out of place on gallery walls, but my commercial work sets me apart from fine art photographers."

Clients

“My bread and butter clients are the Royal Town Planning Institute, and I shoot weddings. They pay well. I don’t advertise. I don’t want to end up being known as a full time wedding photographer. Clients tend to be friends of friends, who come to me because they like my work. I’ll probably do six digital wedding packages this year in the documentary style, which is quick on turnaround and great for my turnover.

“London’s got cutting edge magazines in fashion and design. I’m trying to get work with them, which doesn’t necessarily have to pay the bills. There are magazines that, no matter what happens, are not going to pay you, I don’t necessarily think that’s great, but you weigh things up and think, if you can get two pages in that magazine, it’s a pretty good promo. I could spend lots of money sending out postcards or mailshots, or I could shoot for a magazine and get some work on its website, and that goes out to lots more people, who aren’t even on my mailing list."

Business

“I registered as self employed as soon as I finished university, but I don’t have a need for an accountant yet. I’d like an agent, but it’d have to be the right one. You have to be able to bring something to an agency, and at the moment I don’t think I can bring enough. You have to be ready, because if you land the big job and muck it up, there is a lot at stake.

“Ideally, I’d like the balance of doing documentary work, albeit with my own twist, and having an agent to bring me commercial work."

Film vs Digital

“The start and end of my process are film and prints, whereas the process in between is very much digital. I’m still trying to find the procedure that is right for me. With technology changing each month, I don’t think you should rule out anything. I shoot my personal projects on film. Digital is great for commercial work, and it pays my bills, whereas film is my preference. Shooting film makes me a better digital photographer, because it means I take a lot more care over the final image. Even though the scanning, contacts, editing, and retouching are all digital, I still prefer the quality of film overall.

“I shoot most of my portraits on a Mamiya RZ, and a Mamiya 7 for a lot of documentary work. I have a Hasselblad Xpan for work I do for the Royal Town Planning Institute, as it needs panoramic street scenes for the website and annual reports, and I use a Canon 5D for commercial work.

“I’d like to get to a stage where I have commissions coming in and a string of good clients, but I’m also hoping that I will get to the point where I can work on personal projects, such as books and shows. Obviously client relations need work, so I’m not saying you can run a business based on the skill and the product, but I’m happier building up relationships and commercial work, as opposed to attending art fairs."

Networking

“I do a lot of networking online. I’ve generated interest in my website through various sites, including Flickr, which is used by 12 million people wanting to share photos. I believe I am building a brand, as in one day 2-300 people might look at my work.

“Pros have work on there, and there are loads of interesting amateurs, and it generates exposure to the editors and creators who use it. I used to be in a band in Bournemouth, and the guy who played guitar is now a web designer, so we help each other out. He wanted to build up his own portfolio, so I helped him with that, and in return I got a website which I can maintain, change and upload images onto myself.

“I entered a New York based competition for emerging photographers [www.heyhotshot.com] and as I got through to the final round, my work was shown in the States. 

“I’m represented by the Paris-based agency, Picture Tank, which sells stories and stock, and I’m forming an online collective with 10 other photographers worldwide. We would like it to interact with the wider audience, and hope it will be a way of presenting images in an interesting way.

“I’m part of Photo Debut (www.photodebut.org). In Nov 2006 we put on the show Stop Moving, which involved installing 14 light boxes in the back of a 44-tonne truck and driving it around London for evening shows in places such as Hoxton Square, Elephant & Castle and Brick Lane.

“I’m off to Arles again this year to get inspiration and see what’s happening in the global photographic community."