Matthew Johnson
Published 18th April 2021
INTRODUCTION
A photographer based in London, specialising in portraiture, classical music and cycling. Matt’s work is primarily focused around the importance of community and physical and mental wellbeing; He shows this through documenting interdisciplinary arts, performance, sport and the great outdoors; through portrait and reportage style images.
Matt’s first book, ‘Cyclists of London’, was self-published in summer 2020 post-lockdown and is a photographic journal, documenting some of the city’s many cyclists. In January 2021, this was followed up by a zine, titled ‘Saltburn Surfers’.
Was there a moment in particular when you realised your love for photography was becoming more than a hobby?
There wasn’t a particular moment as such. Before I decided to take my photography further than just a hobby, I was training to be a cellist but photography was slowly starting to become a more prominent aspect of my life. I guess then it reached a point where I felt it was the natural thing for me to do to start pushing it further.
© Matthew Johnson
As a musician, you perform as part of an orchestra, whereas photography can be seen as a solo, independent discipline. Do you miss being part of a team? Or have you found ways to fill this gap through collaboration?
The feeling you get sitting in a room of 80 odd people playing music together, music we are all passionate about, is amazing! I can’t think of anything in photography that I could compare this to. With photography, the collaborations are very different, but different in a good way.
For example, with my personal work and side projects, I work a lot with the same designer (Dan Kevin Lloyd - go check him out) which I see as almost a mini-ensemble. I really enjoy being able to bounce ideas back and forth to get the best results from each other. However, a lot of the time being a photographer, more so with Covid restrictions, I end up working alone.
I turn up to a shoot, spend only a short time with the subjects/people before returning home to edit alone. Don’t get me wrong, I do love this but I am always looking for new collaborations and projects to fill this gap of teamwork and sharing ideas and creativity with others.
© Matthew Johnson
How did you start growing your network after moving to London and approach getting clients in a field that you enjoyed?
Coming into my photography career, I already had a number of solid connections in the classical music world from my years training as a cellist. I used these initial connections to build my portfolio of images of musicians which I then promoted through social media, posters and personally messaging contacts to let people know I was in London and available to take photos and to begin growing my network of clients. In fact, I still repeat this now! I turn up to concerts and events, chat to people, introduce myself, follow up with emails and I am always reaching out to people via email and DM who I am interested in working with. I don’t necessarily do this as a “pitch” to book me, but just to let them know who I am, that I like their work and that I happen to be a photographer (website link in the email signature naturally).
Has your relationship with music changed since pursuing photography as your main career path?
Even though I made the choice not to pursue a career as a professional cellist, there was still a part of me that still wanted it as it was a dream I'd had for so long. However, my work as a photographer has still allowed me to be up close and heavily involved in the classical music industry without the pressure of playing my cello professionally and still getting the fulfilment of creating work in this environment.
Without realising it, I have found a place in the industry I love, with music I love, which makes me feel part of the bigger picture. Don’t get me wrong, when I see amazing musicians playing epic pieces of music, all I want to do is go home and play my cello. But overall, I really like the balance I have currently.
“Without realising it, I have found a place in the industry I love, with music I love, which makes me feel part of the bigger picture.”
© Matthew Johnson
What inspired you to focus on community and wellbeing and why are they such important aspects in your work?
This came about as an accident really. Outside of photography, I love being on location and enjoy being outdoors. After the first lockdown, I self-published my first book ‘Cyclists of London’ and afterwards I realised just how important cycling was to people in terms of the improvements they felt in their health and mood and the network they had with other cyclists.
My next project was a limited run Zine entitled ‘Saltburn Surfers’ which was very similar in nature but featured surfers on the North East coast. Similarly, through conversations with the surfers, I realised how surfing and being part of the surfing community meant to them.
On reflection, this is very similar to music and the positive effect it can have where for the musicians and audience, the sense of community and enjoyment is paramount. My two projects and music work highlight that community and wellbeing are two major themes through my work. I enjoy the connection this creates, when someone loves something and this makes them feel good, it tends to create good conversations, which in turn makes me feel good and the photos take care of themselves.
“When someone loves something and this makes them feel good, it tends to create good conversations, which in turn makes me feel good and the photos take care of themselves. ”
© Matthew Johnson
You’ve been on some great location shoots, what’s been your favourite and why?
Tough question! I live for new, different and often challenging locations. But, if I had to pick, I’d say the North Yorkshire Moors. Close to where I grew up. There is nothing they don’t provide for a great shoot, all with the added surprise of the ever-changing weather, all the drama!
What are your top tips for making people feel comfortable and capturing people's personality on set?
Just talk ... and then talk some more … and some more. I sometimes feel like I talk more than I photograph. I really like to try and meet my subjects for a short walk around the location so we can have a good natter before we get going. I also make sure I’ve told them a rough plan for the shoot during a pre-shoot phone call (more talking).
© Matthew Johnson
Thanks so much for being one of our mentors for the A-Team programme! How have you found being a mentor? Has there been anything you’ve personally gained from the experience?
I have loved being a mentor! I love hearing about how and why people take photographs, I am yet to talk to anyone who doesn’t have an interesting story/route into photography. Along with this, I find that having to answer questions such as ‘How do you get clients?’, ‘How do you send a good follow up email?’, and ‘How do you live on the knife-edge as a young creative in a global pandemic?!’ helps me question my own practice at the same time.
Even giving feedback on images, apart from technical points, my feedback always comes from what I would have done or how I would have taken or edited the images. But I am learning to try and think about what the point of the image is and has the image achieved its full potential to tell the strongest story.
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Notes From A Small Island: Journey Through Britain by Bill Bryson
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