Between September 2021 and March 2022 I went to eight towns and cities, Shrewsbury, Coventry, Leicester, Northampton, Oxford, Gloucester, Manchester and Bristol, with one plan: stop strangers on the high street and ask if I could take their portrait.
Around 457 people said yes. Here they are by the time of day I met them, from midday to after dark, each lined up on the eyes:
Here’s what that taught me, about photography and about marketing.
The first ten seconds decide everything
Nobody stops for a camera. People stop for a person. The approach that worked was simple: say what you like about them, what the project is, and that it’ll take a minute. Compliment the hat, not the face. Be specific and be quick.
It’s the same as any good opening line in marketing. Lead with them, not with you.
Talk first, shoot second
The worst portraits in the set are the first frames, when people are still holding a pose. The best come thirty seconds later, halfway through a sentence about where they’re going or what they think of the town. A conversation does more for a portrait than any light.
One way of working makes a set
Every portrait was made the same way: one lens, the background thrown soft, eye level, no flash. That consistency is what turns 457 separate photographs into one body of work. Brands are the same: the same look, every time, is what makes people recognise you.
Every town has a different face
Leicester’s market, Northampton’s church towers, Oxford’s stone, Gloucester’s brick and lanterns. Shot just after lockdown, the set ended up as a picture of the British high street at a strange moment, coming back to life one face at a time.
Rejection is just data
Not everyone says yes, and that’s fine. People are in a hurry, or don’t like photos of themselves. You learn not to take it personally and to read who’s likely to say yes. Anyone who has ever done outreach knows the feeling.
A selection from the project is in the UK street portraits collection, with all 420 faces laid out by the time of day I met them.
Written by Joseph Carey · 24 Oct 2026