There’s something about photography by Jon Enoch that makes us want to dive deeper. It has to do with the fact that his images look so simple yet have mystery to them without seeming metaphysical. His latest series, called Reflections, embodies that very well. Jon is an award-winning London-based portrait, lifestyle and advertising photographer that’s big on bright colors and bold looks. Reflections, however, takes those and puts one of his most artistic spins on the idea yet.
All images by Jon Enoch. Used with permission. For more, check out his website and his Instagram @jonenochphoto/
Phoblographer: Talk to us about how you first got into photography.
John Enoch: I had a fairly unusual journey into the photography industry. While I was studying geography at university in Sheffield, in the North of the UK, I entered a competition and ended up winning a round the world trip – just the luck of the draw type thing. I got lucky.
I ended up deferring my course for a year so I could take the free trip. I bought a basic point-and-shoot camera and just developed a real love for photography, and specifically photographing people, on my travels. I also ended up selling some of the travel images that I took, so I got an early taste for being able to sell my images too. I started to think I was onto something.
After I’d finished my degree, I did a postgraduate qualification in news photography, then moved onto working at the local newspaper and moved from there to a news agency before moving to London to work for The Times newspaper.
It was here that I really grew my skills in portrait photography. I quite quickly ended up shooting a lot of their more high-profile portraits. That, in turn, opened the door to some big magazine commissions and the advertising work started from there.
Phoblographer: What do you use to achieve your creative vision?
John Enoch: I shoot on Canon and mostly use Profoto but there is no essential camera gear. Gear is just a tool to allow you to execute your vision. What I use will really depend entirely on what that vision is. I use Sigma lenses with the 5DSR or sometimes the 5DIV. Sometimes my work is very lit with multiple lights – other times I just let the sun do its thing. It’s about knowing what to do when and being able to make a decision. When you are shooting a project like this and you are halfway up a sand dune dragging a huge heavy box, the sun is blinding you and everyone has sand in their eyes, the real skill – and it’s a skill that comes from experience – is being about to make clear, calm decisions and not flap.
Phoblographer: These images are beautiful, but I know for a fact that doing a project like this was probably incredibly difficult. What was the most challenging part for you and the heroes of your photographs?
John Enoch: The most challenging part about these images was undoubtedly the harsh environment. Firstly, we had to have a licence, which means that we have to protect the landscape. To move the large mirror boxes in, we had to hire desert trucks.
In terms of the climate, the wind really picks up throughout the day, so we shot early in the morning at first light. I was also battling sand blowing into my eyes and the models’ eyes. The sun also pings off the mirror and blinds everyone.
The real challenge is really in the planning – such as how big is the box, what sort of mirror to use. So many little decisions and a wrong turn on any of them can cause things to go wrong very quickly.
Phoblographer: Talk to us about the specific use of the colors “blue” in this. What importance and significance do they have here? What are you trying to artistically express?
John Enoch: The mirror boxes reflect the bright blue sky, and the models wore a dark blue, which provided contrast with the sand. I thought that having a very limited colour palette would allow the image to really stand out, with the focus on the landscape.
Phoblographer: We really liked your images partially because, as we’ve been going through various projects, there’s something that’s very human about it. With that said, what are your thoughts about all the AI projects out there these days and “AI photos” as they’re called? And how do you feel that it’s affecting the whole misunderstanding of art vs content in photography?
John Enoch: I think the fast development of AI photography has been very interesting to be honest. However, in terms of my work and the marketing and advertising industry, I really think we’ll see a huge reaction away from AI and manipulated images.
I think, ultimately, the vast majority of brands and businesses want to align themselves with being genuine and authentic. As technology develops, genuine moments of real human interaction will become more powerful and sought after.
AUTHENTICITY STATEMENT
The Phoblographer works with human photographers to verify that they’ve actually created their work through shoots. These are done by providing us assets such as BTS captures, screenshots of post-production, extra photos from the shoot, etc. We do this to help our readers realize that this is authentically human work. Here’s what this photographer provided for us.