Meet Lily Bertram-Webb, a brilliantly talented photographer. We spent the morning at her West London studio learning about her creative passion and the work she creates.
Born and bred a West Londoner of half Dominican and half English heritage, Lily has always wanted to be a photographer. She was inspired by her godfather who was a photographer at the time she was growing up. There were always cameras lying around and she would pick these up and take random pictures.
Lily shoots on film and loves to capture a moment in time.
"There is so many reasons why I got into photography, but I think the main reason I got into it is because I'm deaf and I wear a cochlear implant, which means I can't hear at all, I can hear 95% with my cochlear but basically I take photo's as it doesn't require sound, so it's a way for me to communicate with the world visually."
Lily shoots on film using analog cameras:
" I think one of the reasons why I shoot on these specific cameras is because you have to take your time, every time you take a photograph, every time you look through the view finder you just think about the shot, where as digital cameras you can be looking away and be trigger happy. Also nothing beats the quality of the film, the graininess and the richness in colour. Back in the day when I was at university I use to print all of my work. The magic and excitement of being in the dark room and creating something is really special
Lily's work speaks for itself and she has shot some of Britain's most iconic creatives including Paul McCartney, Thandie Newton, Rita Ora, Imelda Staunton and Miquita Oliver to name just a few.
"If I could work with anyone, it would be the photographer Lee Miller, unfortunately she is no longer with us, but she has been a major inspiration through out my career. She started of as a model, and was heavily involved in the Surrealist movement in the 1920's and 30s. She became Man Rays muse and became a photographer at that time too. She became a war correspondent for Vogue in the 2nd World War, and reported throughout this time. She really was an incredible strong woman and a true inspiration."
Follow Lily's work on Instagram at @lilybw.
