Interview with graham atkins-hughes
Graham Atkins-Hughes is an interiors and lifestyle photographer for major publications such as Wallpaper, Elle, Vogue and many others. As someone who works with major publications, and plays a key role in bringing beautiful interiors to audiences around the world, I wanted to get to know the man behind the images and what makes him tick. So sit down grab a coffee and enjoy an interesting insight into the life of a truly talented artist.
Like most things in life it happen because of external forces, and because the first few commissions I shot where for very prominent interior magazines.
I started my career in photography over twenty years ago. Having studied in my home town of Dublin, I cut my teeth professionally as an assistant/studio manager in a commercial studio in the city. Having worked with visiting photographers on the studios behalf, I knew I would quickly outgrow the local market and it wasn’t long before I decided to move to London. During my time there I assisted such luminaries as Anne Leibovitz, Bruce Weber & London Based photographers Corrine Day, Reagan Cameron & Perry Ogden. When I stopped assisting, commissions came quite quickly, in the first month i shot for Wallpaper Magazine’s launch issue, the Financial Times lifestyle magazine ‘How to spend it’ & Marie Claire UK, the rest is history as they say. To date I’ve Been lucky enough to work for some of London’s top publications and clients. This year (2013) I’m expanding my imaging skills into film and moving image, and I’m currently embarking on some training and personal projects, building up contacts to work with on film scripts. In the meantime I’m busy shooting stills both in the UK and internationally.
Q3/ Could you pick a favourite location for an interiors shoot you've worked on and why this stood out to you?
The most surprising shoot I did was one that I did with my good friend Abigail Ahern for her first book Girls Guide to Decorating, we went to New Yerk to do some shooting, on the first day Abi was really ill and just couldn't get out of bed, so she didn't make it to the location until lunch time. So myself and Tamara; my then assistant, headed off to a house in the village, which neither of us had seen. A beautiful brown stone full to busting with character and amazing street and flea market finds awaited us. The deal which Abi had made with Loraine was that we were to photograph the ground floor only. But as soon as I walked in I knew that I was a very lucky photographer the house was amazing, and I managed to turn on the Irish charm and talked Loraine into letting us shoot the whole house. So a shoot that should have lasted a few hours took all day, in fact she had to eventually kick us out at about 7.30 pm, a few days later we also did some photography in Loraine's fashion Store in the next street Geminola it's just as beautiful as the house, the only word to describe it is Multi Layered.
I have been doing what I am doing now for about 18 years and I still love it, I think that's quite an achievement in itself, also our home I am very proud of, and in the future I plan to move into making moving images, still in interiors to start with because that's where my heart is and my experience
When I was an assistant I was lucky enough to work with some great photographers, two that are probably the most well known are Bruce Webber & Annie Leibovitz they both have an amazing work ethic about the way they shoot very similar in many ways and very different in many ways but the main thing I learnt from them; along with many other photographers I know and have worked with, you have to get the picture when the opportunity is there, they are most of the time fleeting moments, so don't hesitate shoot first and ask questions later.
