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BRIAN BENSON PHOTOGRAPHY
Manchester born, London bases - I trained as a costume tailor, working in theatre and opera before borrowing a camera and realising that is where my true passion lay.
I joined a community dark room in Camden and started processing my own black and white film and printing there.
I started taking photos of the student films and theatre projects I was designing costumes for.
One of my images was spotted by the BBC and within a very short period I got a job as a still photographer on a mini series produced by Lenny Henry.
The more I worked the more I learned and I quickly realised there was so much more to learn. So, I went back to college for a year to study for a City and Guilds in Photography at the college of North East London.
It wasn't a main stream route to photography success but at the college i could use medium and 5x4 plate cameras and the darkroom and my tutors were inspiring and encouraging. The course was scheduled for three days a week but I was in for five most weeks in between earning money to pay the rent by making costumes for The west End productions and The Englsih National Opera.
After finishing my course, I applied for assisting jobs as advertised in the window jobs board off the Association of Photographers.
I just so happened to get the job. In a busy still life studio in Old Street. I learned a lot about business, client liaison and studio set up there within 2 years and then I started looking for other work outside of the studio.
I assisted several inspiring photographers and gradually started to get commissions for magazines and other clients. For a period I specialised in interiors and still life and product photography, shooting for magazines such as Homes and Gardens, House and Garden, BBC Good Home and even Vogue (Brazilan) and for ad agencies and then lots and lots of products shots for the Bodyshop. At the same time I would get commissions for the Health Education Authority photographing campaigns for stopping smoking and healthy living.