Rory Lewis "Expresive series"

As a photographer obsessed with the unorthodox I would like to present an entirely new body of work, a retrospective of individualistic portraiture, which I believe will edify the gallery with an unfamiliar view of some of the worlds most recognised faces. So much of the portraiture commissioned in the press and print industry is reluctant to take risks. I'd love to challenge that safety and introduce moments of spontaneity and awkwardness into imagery; too often the portraits of people, often notorious or famous, are agrandising and sycophantic. I'd hope to strip back some of the layers of artifice and enforce strangeness and quietness in its place. I'm reliant on moments of spontaneity with my subjects, I will often find a face and approach them, there and then, and shoot with them in that moment. My aim is to bring my subject into a space where they can lose themselves and disconnect from that moment. People are often guarded and resilient to reveal themselves, especially the famous and most recognisable, and part of the joy of portraiture for me is getting them to reach a point where they let that guard drop. It's an accidental moment that I look out for. For me that moment of accident is really important, it can be found during the shooting process or in the editing process. I find it's often something you didn't expect to work that will yield the most evocative images. Be it messing around digitally or physically editing the image. I was raised on digital but more and more I value the presence of a tactile image, one you can hold, bend and tear.