Focusing his artistic skill around portrait, advertising, and lifestyle photography, Jon Enoch has a raw and authentic feel. Following his passion around the world, he is able to set himself apart by shooting in short, momentary situations.
Describing his work as bold and uncomplicated, London-based photographer Jon Enoch has been working as a freelancer for 11 years. Initially beginning his career as a newspaper photographer, he gradually gained experience in shooting portraits and experimenting with lighting. After quickly realising he wanted more, Jon followed his passion and braved the jump – becoming a full-time freelancer. Nowadays, he specialises in portraits and lifestyle photography, and has since worked with celebrities and athletes, and created many advertising campaigns.
In 2019, Jon flew out to Hanoi, Vietnam, chasing his fascination by the motorcycle delivery drivers that whizz around the city with their eye-catching cargoes. Having read that motorbikes would be banned from 2030 to tackle congestion and air pollution, Jon set out on his adventure before it was too late. The result is the creation of a portrait series entitled “Bikes of Hanoi“.
When you first visit Hanoi, it’s an overwhelming sight. There is such a skill to loading up these motorcycles and driving them too; I was fascinated by them.
Jon shot at night, mainly because the roads were quieter and there were no background distractions. The second advantage was that the coloured backlighting brings a new take on the subject.
I love shooting in mixed light conditions. We shot at night for the mixed light, but also logistics-wise it was far easier to work through the night when there was less traffic.
Jon didn’t want the images to look like traditional travel photos. This is a further reason for why he decided for night-time photography, as it portrays the subjects in a different way.
He credits his background in news photography as providing him with the skill to translate what is happening to the camera in a short duration of time. He has learned to think quickly and adapt himself into any situation, in order to get that one shot.
This mindset has allowed him to gain recognition through the winning of numerous awards, including the Smithsonian Grand Prize, the Lens Culture Portrait Award and the Portraits of Humanity Award. In addition, the images were shortlisted for the Sony World Photography Award and won the gold Prix de la Photographie Paris (Px3) award in 2019.
To see more of Jon’s work check out his Cherrydeck profile, or his website and Instagram. To see more intriguing portraits take a look at “Trash” by Tania Volobueva. ?
