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Letchford and Letchford

By on February 28, 2011

What struck me most while perusing the Letchford & Letchford portrait photography website was not just their stunning portfolio, a result of combining years of successful high-fashion photographic sensibility with katana-sharp shooting skills. Nor was it their ridiculously elevated design ethic so high in fact, that it could induce severe nosebleeds. No, it was a little tab at the bottom that read “tour dates.”

 

Photographers don’t tour, they go on shoots. Those shoots may be in elaborate, awe-inspi-ring settings, but they don’t tour. They are not performers like Beyoncé, or mega rock stars like U2; they are people, with cameras, who take photos for a living.

 

Not the Letchfords. They tour, crisscrossing the globe to create highly original portraits of whomever, from the hoi polloi, to regular-old-you-and-me, and then artfully turning them into pieces for their clients to proudly and eagerly display. To the Letchfords we are all the same. We have families and friends who we love and whose spirit we want to capture forever, in the most alluring, playful, colorful, vibrant and honest ways possible. We want to create lasting memories, and the Letchfords are quite adept at helping us out.

 

Geoff and Rebecca are the Letchfords, who have for the last twelve years called the world their photo/design studio, only taking two months a year off to chill and feed their insatiable appetite for new ideas. He shoots, she designs. Together they have become one of the most sought-after portrait photographer teams in the world. They met in 1996, joined forces in 1997, and sealed the deal in 2002 when they married. Fairytale perhaps, but devilishly clever to boot.

 

But what is it about their work that has them in such high demand?

 

From London to St. Tropez, and Whistler to right here in Tokyo, they take conventional portrait photography to never-before-seen places, the crux of which still remains the images themselves.

 

“(They) must have depth, composition and life. They’ve got to have a story (behind them), otherwise why bother staring at it for the next fifty years,” explains Geoff, adding that whether the photographic narrative is explicit or not, people should be able to learn something about the people in Letchford portraits just by looking at them.

 

Which is why he enjoys bringing his talent to Japan, a place that he considers one of the most beautiful places to shoot, where every corner bustles with life, color, complexity and richness.

 

Geoff explains that while any location can be made to look good, if there is no context, then there is no real connection to his subjects. “Memories of a place take time to create. They have to be relevant to the family and tell a story about their lives. Why was the image shot there, what does it mean?” he says, explaining part of his discovery process.

 

Without a formal studio, or any favorite location, he derives inspiration directly from his clients, whose individualism breathes extra life into his photos. He learns about where they live, what they do, and what they love and hate.

 

“Every detail in a scene can tell us so much about that time; a favorite worn-out t-shirt, wearing the right dress with the wrong shoes, just because they were a gift from Grandma, the street on which a child walks to school, a favorite cafe or burger restaurant… anything that tells us who you are. There is beauty in all these things if you look with open eyes,” he says clearly.

 

And it’s this irrepressible attention to detail that makes Geoff’s work connect on an emotional level rather than just merely on a visual one. For that, Rebecca takes over.

 

With a background in both graphic and interior design, Rebecca is the creative force behind their unique display alternatives, relentlessly hunting down new and innovative ways to show her husband’s work, not for his sake, but to make each client’s experience ultimately unique, especially since she usually has to sort through hundreds of excellent photos to do so.

 

“For me it’s like watching a great movie. I learn so much more about (our clients) than I did during the shoot, because everything remains still, so there are even more details for me to see. The story is there, I just have to discover it, bring it out, and then find the best way to point it out to others,” she explains about her process of discovery.

 

She says it’s also about making people comfortable and finding the right fit. Everyone wants to look good, but our needs are different, so she uses more artistic elements in creating Letchford portraits.

 

“Everyone loves some kind of art, the way it makes them feel, and what it reminds them of, and a family portrait is no different. Yes, it takes time to find the right photo with the right display in the right size for the right spot. But when it works, it should fit like a glove and if it’s ever taken down,  you should feel lost without,” she explains.

 

So Rebecca works with a variety of mediums including aluminum, wood and silk, to create framed prints, curtains, chair backs and carpets as well as beautiful, uniquely designed books, to add a further, tactile dimension to her husband’s photos. “I like the materials to add to the overall feeling you get from a piece, to add warmth or coolness, hardness, softness and vibrancy,” she says.

 

And with Geoff, she believes that her creative process stems from using the right photos, which she helps their clients choose, before creating computer-generated gallery shows, usually far exceeding their expectations.

 

“Finding interesting ways of displaying photographs is fantastic, but without a great image it’s just a fancy picture, which doesn’t mean much in the long run,” she explains.

 

After just a few decisions more to make, voila: fabulously original portraits!

 

Individually, Geoff and Rebecca are both accomplished successes, but it is as a team, professionally and in life, that they are a real formidable creative force.

 

“We work like so many great collaborators; we bring each other lots of ideas and then bounce them off one another; and while we don’t always agree, I think that we both operate on instinct because we always seem to end up on the same page,” acknowledges Rebecca.

 

Instinctual or not, keep your eyes peeled for Letchford & Letchford tour dates in your area; they really are a show worth catching!

 

Photos courtesy of Geoff Letchford

For bookings, e-mail info@geoffletchford.com

www.letchford.com.au

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