How to be a kleptomaniac

Everything you see, hear, taste and feel is an opportunity to ‘steal’ – to gather inspiration for the images you create

Being a photographer is beautiful; you wake up every day then (in theory at least) pick up your kit and create. Portrait photographers capture characters; landscapers portray the world around them; the product guys lift the lid on packages; and wedding photographers? Well, they capture everything from landscapes to fashion, products to portraits and everything in-between (as well as being counsellors, planners, jesters and directors).

Every month, as I sit and write this series of articles, I am acutely aware that I write from the viewpoint of a portrait photographer. Like most of us, I can switch genres (I love capturing a twilight landscape once in a while) – but I am a thoroughbred portrait photographer when all is said and done. Nonetheless, I spend my life fascinated by everything from a shaft of morning sunlight to the colour shifts created by hotel lighting. Maybe I will spot the texture of a wall or be curious about a magazine cover.

Currently, I am having a love affair with behind-the-scenes movie-making videos on social media: watching each scene being planned, lit, shot and edited is inspirational, even though I have little desire to move into film-making!