Born into Creativity
James
Alexander
Lyon
Introduction
I’ve had a camera in my hands since I was three years old, not really surprising as my parents worked in Theatre and Television so I was kind of ‘Born into Creativity‘. I really became involved with photography and the image creation process 
in 1979 when I studied photography along-side Graphical Communications Design in London. You can see some of my early work here. After getting qualifications I went straight into working for advertising agencies in Central London during the early eighties, at the height of their creative best. As an Art Director, I learnt to pitch a vision to clients then direct other photographers, to realise these visions.
Brand Image
An images says more than a thousand words
I’ve worked with high street retailers such as Virgin, Burtons, Debenhams and Marks & Spencer as well as established brands such as Guinness, Northern Telecom, Firetrap, Lee Cooper, Lee Jeans and Motorola. Whilst a good deal of my early photography was film-based the switch to digital media in 2003 accelerated my passion to create more and more imaginative imagery from an art director’s perspective. Owning design agencies, Maxwell Lyon and Urban Curve has meant a full and varied understanding of clients desires and the importance of extracting and agreeing on a strong brief. I’ve worked on projects large and small, but all with great attention to detail, professionalism and understanding of a client’s expectations and needs, providing final creative images exceeding the client’s expectations.
Studio or Location?
There’s never a quick answer to a simple question
Most of the time I’m either shooting on location or in a hired studio, my work is split is around 50:50. For locations here in the UK or abroad I can source creative teams or work with ones you have in place. At heart, I’m a traveller and pretty savvy to most environments with the equipment to meet those needs. Studio shoots are either organised with preference to the location of the client or the specialist needs of the studio. Large or small or budget big and tight, there is a studio out there we can use. This variety in my work means it’s impossible to have a studio that will cater to everyone, but more importantly, my rates don’t include the overheads of a studio and all that entails. So location or Studio? I’m really happy with either!
If however, you have smaller projects you can let me work on unsupervised to a brief, then I can accommodate using a small area where I live to shoot portraits, products and some fashion.
Plan C
Let’s not jump the gun, there is always a Plan B, but sometimes a radical change is required when A & B fall short because of something unexpected.
What we have as a mental image ‘in our heads’, sometimes falls short in reality. All the planning, talking and listening significantly reduces the chances of this, but there is a point when time is short that a change in approach is what’s needed. Fixing ‘in post’, obscuring or removing can lessen the problem but it will never be as good as the original concept. Fast practical thinking and a team re-briefing after consultation with the client, ensure that Plan C is as good as Plan A ever was.
Born into Creativity – So what equipment do I use?
I have a range of Canon stills cameras and lenses.
I also have videos rigs and cameras shooting up to 4k.
Should you require something a little different or a larger format I’m happy to rent for a particular project.
