Richard Boll, Author at Richard Boll Photography

Author Archives: Richard Boll

Portrait Photography: The Day I Photographed Sir David Attenborough

Posted by Richard Boll on 16th June 2022 – 4:56 pm

Filed under Editorial Photography, Fine Art Photography, London, National Portrait Gallery, Portrait Photography

Sir David Attenborough by Richard Boll/ Commissioned by The National Portrait Gallery, London

In 2007, I had the privilege of taking this photographic portrait of our nation’s favourite, Sir David Attenborough, in London. Of the photographs I took I chose this particular image for the final portrait as I think it captures the calm, thoughtful, and highly intelligent nature of his character. There’s a reflective, meditative element to the portrait that I hope represents him effectively. I’m proud to say that this portrait went on to form part of the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery, leaving a fantastic ongoing legacy for my work and professional photography career.
Although some time has passed since that day, I can still vividly remember how I felt at the time. It was an exciting and enjoyable shoot, as Sir David was someone I had always admired and respected. People often ask how I came to take the photograph in the first place and what it was like to meet Sir David.

Joe and The National Portrait Gallery Photographic Prize

It was a lovely, sunny day on Brighton seafront. I spotted Joe, taking his dog for a walk along the promenade past my flat. I thought he looked like a very cool and interesting character and I asked if I could take some portraits of him. Joe was very happy for his portrait to be taken and gave me a few minutes of his time. We’ve kept in touch and maintained a positive connection over the years since the photograph was taken. I entered this portrait of ‘Joe’ into the prestigious Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, awarded annually by the National Portrait Gallery. The competition celebrates and promotes the very best in contemporary portrait photography. It was very exciting to be awarded first prize in the competition. I knew I’d been shortlisted but only found out that I’d won on the evening of the prize-giving.

Prize-winning photographic portrait of Joe on Brighton seafront

Britain’s Greatest Living Cultural Icon

After winning the portrait prize, the National Portrait Gallery arranged a special opportunity for me, to take a photo of the winner of a public vote for ‘Britain’s Greatest Living Cultural Icon’. 10 British icons including the likes of David Bowie and Sir Paul McCartney were shortlisted. The public voted overwhelmingly for Sir David Attenborough, and I’m pleased to say that I also voted for him. Thankfully, he agreed to be photographed after the result of the poll was announced. On the day of the shoot, he was extremely polite and very generous with his time. He patiently allowed me to take several portraits against a couple of different backgrounds.
I’m incredibly proud of the final image and people respond well to it, recognising what I was trying to capture of Sir David’s character and legendary status. There was never any guarantee that the portrait would be accepted for the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery which makes me particularly proud that it was sufficiently well-received to be accepted, ensuring a great ongoing legacy for my work.

Sir David Attenborough awarded Knight Grand Cross

Sir David Attenborough needs no introduction, enjoying a very distinguished broadcasting career, spanning the last 60 years when he
first joined the BBC.

Best known for writing and presenting his many acclaimed television documentaries exploring the natural world, including Life on Earth, The Living Planet, and The Blue Planet, he received his first knighthood in 1985 from the Queen.
In recent news, Sir David, now 96 years old, received a ‘second’ knighthood, the even more prestigious Knight Grand Cross from Prince Charles. Attenborough is one of only 120 people with this honour, which was awarded for his services to television broadcasting and
conservation. Let me end with some final words from Sir David himself, “I just wish the world was twice as big and half of it was still unexplored”.

Click here if you’d like to read more about Attenborough and his career, and more of my portrait photography can be seen here. Signed, archival-quality prints of the portrait can be purchased here.

Still life photography: Bespoke shoemakers John Lobb showcase their 170-year history with inspirational wooden last photographs

Posted by Richard Boll on 6th June 2022 – 12:54 pm

Filed under Editorial Photography, Fine Art Photography, London, Product Photography

For over 170 years, John Lobb have been hand crafting bespoke, exquisite, and elegant footwear and leather goods. The world-renowned family-run business spans five generations, receiving its first Royal Warrant in 1863. The firm still produces unique and bespoke handmade shoes to this day one pair at a time. Today, they’re loved for what they’ve always stood for: the celebration of the unique and the original.

Lasts of Frank Sinatra. Still life photo by Richard Boll Photography

At the heart of their process is a pair of unique hand-carved, sculpted wooden lasts, custom-made to the precise form of the customer’s feet. If you walk into their shop for some custom shoes, their master craftsman will draw around your feet to produce the wooden last. They can then continue making shoes to your exact specification using this bespoke last.
Every pair of shoes produced for a customer of John Lobb goes through a 50 hour, 190 step process. Their experienced fitters will discuss the endless possibilities that only truly bespoke footwear can provide. Every single element is carefully considered, resulting in a creation that is truly unique.

Lasts of Jacqueline Kennedy. Still life photo by Richard Boll Photography

Not only are these wooden lasts beautiful sculptural objects in their own right lending themselves perfectly as the focus for still life photography, but they are also historical artifacts of a unique and fascinating legacy. Since 1849, John Lobb has nurtured an impressive range of famous clients over the years from royalty to household celebrities.
I first became aware of the collection of lasts from their historically significant customers whilst on a shoot for a magazine. I thought that the lasts would make a great subject for a photographic project and approached the owners of John Lobb to ask if I could begin photographing them. I was consequently granted exclusive access to shoot the collection of famous people’s wooden lasts.

Corporate portrait photography in London for Numis Investment Bank and The Brunswick Group

Posted by Richard Boll on 21st January 2022 – 12:42 pm

Filed under Corporate Photography, Corporate Portraiture, Environmental Portrait, headshots, Location, London

In September of 2021, I was commissioned by the creative agency The Brunswick Group to take corporate portrait photography of key members of staff at the investment bank Numis. The images were produced over a two-day shoot in various locations at their London offices. Each portrait required the location to be scouted and compositions discussed in advance with an art director from The Brunswick Group.

Numis is an innovative and dynamic investment bank with offices in New York and London. They’re proud to have the largest client base by number of corporates in the United Kingdom, and through combining their leading component services such as equity sales, M&A solutions, and trading and debt advisory, they operate at the forefront of the industry.

More of my corporate portrait photography can be seen here.

Studio furniture photography of the CROP outdoor seating range for Allermuir

Posted by Richard Boll on 2nd November 2021 – 5:17 pm

Filed under Advertising, Editorial Photography, Furniture Photography, Product Photography, Studio Photography

The CROP range of outdoor furniture was designed for Allermuir by Benjamin Hubert of Layer. The design was named after the rolling fields of crops in the British countryside; represented in the parallel lines in the chair’s designs. The range is distinguished by its stackable steel rod frame, with robot-welded wires forming the seat and backrests. The line took 12 months to develop and comes in the wake of a challenging year.

“This connection with the natural world allows the collection to sit sensitively in an outdoor context, relating each piece to its surroundings through a shared visual rhythm,” explains Allermuir. “This relationship between the product and the great outdoors is enhanced by the dynamic interplay of light and shadow produced as the sun moves across the linear graphic structure.”

It was a privilege to be asked to produce a range of new photographs for Allermuir to capture the originality and elegance of the furniture. I carried out the studio product photography in the summer of 2021, and the well-received images have been used for a huge range of editorial applications. The images ranged from still life product photography of the chairs, as well as some photographs that were more lifestyle in nature. More of my product and furniture photography can be seen here.

Art directors: Abigayle Clayton-Grimshaw, Matt Ousby, Katie Anderson and Andy Barker.
Assistant: Scott Hobson-Jones

studio photography for allermuir

studio lifestyle photography by richard boll

Studio furniture photography of Circo chair and Play Storage for The Senator Group

Posted by Richard Boll on 20th July 2021 – 1:48 pm

Filed under Advertising, Advertising Photography, Commercial Photography, Editorial Photography, Furniture Photography, Product Photography, Studio Furniture Photography, Studio Photography

It’s always a pleasure to be commissioned as a product photographer to produce original images of new and innovative designs. The Senator Group has an ethos of innovation underpinned by beauty; a concept that is clear and present in all of the designs that they offer. I was commissioned to take studio furniture photography of two new furniture designs for The Senator Group that included the Circo chair (designed by Justus Kolberg) and Play Storage (designed by Senator’s in-house team). The product photography produced had editorial and advertising potential that creatively expressed the qualities of the designs. More of my product and furniture photography can be seen here.

Art directors: Edward Jonson and Carla Birtwistle
Assistant: Scott Hobson-Jones

Furniture photography of a chair designed by Justus Kolberg. Richard Boll Photography.

Furniture photography of play storage designed at Senator. Richard Boll Photography.

Lifestyle Photography for Wizzard Advertising Agency in London

Posted by Richard Boll on 4th February 2021 – 4:35 pm

Filed under Advertising, Advertising Photography, Commercial Photography, Environmental Portrait, Lifestyle, lifestyle Photography, Location, Location Photography, London

I was recently commissioned as a lifestyle photographer by the London advertising agency Wizzard. The taxi company has taken the risks posed by Covid-19 very seriously and is taking significant measures to protect their customers in London. I was asked by Wizzard to source models for the lifestyle photography and suggest suitable locations in London. The models were then selected and the shoot was carried out in a relatively quiet square in Pimlico in London. Due to the prevalent risks posed by Covid-19 everyone on the shoot was observing social distancing and wearing PPE. More of my lifestyle photography can be seen here.

Corporate Photography for Octopus Energy in London, Warwickshire and Brighton

Posted by Richard Boll on 18th November 2020 – 12:50 pm

Filed under Corporate Photography, Corporate Portraiture, Environmental Portrait, Location, London

I was recently commissioned by Octopus Energy, a UK-based electricity and gas supplier specialising in sustainable energy. They were established in 2015 and have rapidly developed a reputation for excellent customer service and value for money. I was asked to photograph their staff members in London, Warwickshire and Brighton. The commission involved taking informal corporate photography of their team at work as well as posed corporate portraits. It was a great commission and I’m a big fan of Octopus Energy and their fantastic team.

More of my corporate photography can be found here.

Corporate Portrait Photography for Derwent Annual Report Commissioned by Merchant Cantos

Posted by Richard Boll on 2nd November 2020 – 3:41 pm

Filed under Corporate Photography, Corporate Portraiture, Environmental Portrait, Location, Location Photography, London

I’ve been providing corporate portrait photography to the global communications agency Merchant Cantos since 2017 and it was a great pleasure to be selected for a commission to take portraits for the Derwent London 2019 Annual Report. Derwent London is a property investment and development business with its headquarters in London. It was a significant project carried out over several days, producing group and single portraits of key members of staff. The group portraits were taken in a variety of different locations across London. Each portrait required the location to be scouted and compositions discussed in advance with art directors from Merchant Cantos. The project included group portraits taken in interiors of key Derwent London buildings, as well as exterior locations including building sites and rooftop spaces.

The portraits were deemed a great success and discussions have begun for commissioned imagery for the next Derwent London annual report.

More of my corporate portraits can be seen here.

Corporate portrait for Derwent annual report by London photographer Richard Boll

Group portrait for Derwent annual report by London photographer Richard Boll

Portrait and Product Photographer for Burgundy Producer Olivier Bernstein

Posted by Richard Boll on 14th July 2020 – 12:55 pm

Filed under Advertising, Editorial Photography, Environmental Portrait, Location, Publications, wine photography

As someone who loves a good glass of Burgundy, it was a pleasure to be commissioned as a product photographer to carry out a shoot for a wine producer in Beaune in the Burgundy region of France.

The photography was commissioned by the creative agency Anew and it was to produce images for the great wine producer Olivier Bernstein. The images were for the website and editorial use, and included mostly product photography and some portrait photography.

Though it was a quick visit to the Olivier Bernstein premises in Beaune, less than 24 hours in fact, it was a productive shoot and the client was delighted with the results.

More of my still life product photography can be found here and more of my portrait photography can be found here.

Global Advertising Photography for Zeiss

Posted by Richard Boll on 26th June 2020 – 4:23 pm

Filed under Advertising, Environmental Portrait, Global Advertising, Lifestyle, Location, Product Photography

The company Zeiss began in 1846 when the scientific instrument maker and optician Carl Zeiss founded a workshop in Jena, Germany. Since then it has transformed into a world-renowned research-orientated enterprise that produces a significant range of optical products including eyewear, lenses for film and photography, and highly specialised products for metrology and medical use.
I was commissioned to provide the advertising photography for a global campaign for Zeiss by the London-based creative agency Collider. The campaign was for the innovative new range of Zeiss Smartlife lenses. It was an extremely well organised and productive shoot, carried out in various locations in and around London with a considerable team shooting both still and moving image. It’s been great to see the images being used so extensively for such a successful advertising campaign.

More of my lifestyle photography can be seen here and more of my portrait photography can be seen here.