PORTRAITS – José Tió

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⭐PRINCESS ANNE⭐

A shoot with a story to tell. Many people have asked me, why is everybody happy in the picture?I had a commission to photograph Princess Anne together with the group of people worked for her mother, The Mother Queen.

I was ready with my flash outside the room and then the batleer energetically announced me, the photographer. I was very relaxed and directing everyone to their positions and making sure that everyone would be visible in the photo.

I had been told that I had 5 minutes alloted for the shoot. The butler told me that every strike of his wooden gavel on the table would be a click of my camera.

One strike, one click. Second strike, second click.

I was getting nervous because I was not directing the shoot. I said to him, “Let’s stop this as I prefer to direct myself”. Everybody in the room was laughed including the princess.

And I just clicked away, the moment I was waiting for suddenly came! Everybody happy.

5 minutes in time… forever

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⭐ROB HUNTER⭐

PIANO PLAYER
Portraits / Commission

__________________________________________

⭐ ED SKREIN ⭐

Edward George “Ed” Skrein is an English actor, filmmaker, and rapper. He rose to fame as the first actor to portray Daario Naharis in Game of Thrones and the supervillain Francis Freeman/Ajax in the superhero comedy Deadpool.

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⭐BRITISH GQ⭐
Publication

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⭐ATTITUDE MAGAZINE⭐
Ed Skrein

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⭐CALUM BEST⭐

Photo portraits and Video

Calum Best is a British media figure and model, internationally recognised as the son of football icon George Best. With a refined public presence shaped by fashion, television, and wellness, he has cultivated a distinct identity blending heritage, modern masculinity, and contemporary lifestyle culture.

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⭐ PERUVIAN PORTRAITS ⭐

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⭐SAILORS⭐

Some photographs from the exhibition at the Greenwich Yacht Club.
I waited for the sailors as they returned from the Thames, with my studio setup and lighting fully prepared. As they arrived—still carrying the elements of the river on their bodies and clothes—they stepped directly into the studio. From water to lens, the transition was immediate, raw, and honest.

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⭐DANNI MENZIES⭐

Danni Menzies is a British television presenter and media personality, known for her elegant on-screen presence and contemporary lifestyle influence. With a background in broadcasting and fashion, she embodies a modern, confident femininity shaped by travel, culture, and refined storytelling.

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⭐VINCENT VAN GOGH⭐

When I was a student my father gave me a book – Vincent Van Gogh; His Life and Paintings. The book grabbed my attention, mainly the cover, with a self-portrait of him on a blue background. It was as though the cover was looking at me and I was looking at it. I kept the book with me for years and studied it in detail.
I was around 10 years-old, many years before I decided to become a photographer.

This is my actual conclusion as a photographer:

This portrait was painted in a small room with all the walls painted in blue and a closed window. I can tell from the kind of light that can be seen coming from the right side of the face. He was absolutely fascinated by the light coming through the window behind his head, this light was reflecting on the opposite blue wall that was reflecting the blue tones on his face. I was asking myself, why does he have green tones on his face? Of course, green is the combination of blue (the wall reflection) and his yellow tone of skin.

I am very sure he had a mirror to see all this light effect on his face and ginger hair.

The light in this painting belongs to a tiny room with a mirror and a window. I could say it was the toilet room. Only in a small room we can have that effect, blue walls reflecting its colour everywhere.

As the lonely person he was, the mirror was a good thing for him to look at many times of the day, I can tell that’s why he painted many portraits. Thanks to his blond/ginger hair, combined with the blue walls, he discovered that the blue and the yellow are a great combination and a good contrast. We can see these tones repeated in many of his paintings.

Following the same ‘Path of Light’ used on this painting, I recreated the same situation at my photo studio.

The model: I was in South London, in Croydon, visiting a friend, when back home on the train I found Marcus, I went up to him and told him that he looks exactly the same as Van Gogh. He smiled and he told me that many strangers had said the same.
I gave him my card and after several attempts to meet to take a portrait, because of the distance, COVID restrictions etc, finally, after almost 3 years, we decided to do it.

Before his beard turns white and the years pass, this is the time. I asked him to grow his beard long and we waited another month. By WhatsApp he sent me photos of his beard so I could see the progress.

While we were waiting for the right length of the beard, I painted a background, and was on the lookout for suitable accessories like a hat, shirt and blazer similar to the painting.

All this elements came together, same place, same hour.

LETS SHOOT FINALLY!
And here is the result.

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⭐ Editorial Marilyn Monroe ⭐

She was pretty and indefence. She was expecting the love of the ones who were taking advantage of her.

While I was taking this pictures, at the same time I was explaining the model the story about Marilyn, of course she is 23 years old, she didn’t know who Marilyn was, the model felt sad and begun to generate some drops in her eyes, this was a magical moment, I begun to shoot the sadness Marilyn I was looking for.