Paul Smith

When I was in my early teens, I had that camera and loved doing black and white photography, but never in my wildest dreams, thought that it may ever go any further from that. I became a touring/working musician, and I would take my camera with me and started to take photographs of bands and other musicians.

I was working on a tour with NME and started photographing a band called Big Pink, a fantastic band from Brighton back in the early 2000s – when they asked me if they could use the photo’s – that sparked it! I could obviously take a photograph and people were interested in my ‘take’ on photography and that’s generally where it all started. It was the spark and ignition point which inspired me to go out and invest in the equipment, I taught myself, never had a lesson and never had anyone show me what to do, the same as my music, purely self-taught. I’ve always had a feel for it, I can see an image in my head before I take a photograph, I’ve always managed to get the shot and that skill set has enabled me to work with some incredible clients and move it up to the level where I am at today.

My family are based in Bristol, it’s a creative hub with so much opportunity and if you really commit yourself, it’s an incredible place to be, I miss Bristol tremendously. I met my lovely wife at this time, she was a West End actress working in London and she introduced me to some people in her industry. I moved to London and started working as a head shot photographer for actors and people in the entertainment industry, it just snowballed, and I got busier and busier, and I’m delighted to say that it turned into my career!

I started taking photography at events to fill in the gaps when I wasn’t doing my portraiture and through that I got involved with companies such as Barclays, ITV, and Capita as well as lots of magazines like food magazine and travel magazines, then it moved into corporate photography, events, and product photography.

I’ve lived here in Tonbridge for four years now and I’ve fallen head over heels in love with it, it’s such a great community and I’ve made so many amazing friends. There’s a lot of interesting business opportunities here and If I can bring what I already do in London, to this area, introducing myself to the local businesses; it makes me feel very excited to be able to show them what I can do.

I have this funny thing when I’m on the train coming back from London, you go through a tunnel just after leaving Orpington, or when you come off the M25 and get on the A21, there’s this effect where your shoulders relax, and it has a classifying relaxation effect on me. I can relax here, and I love it.”