I don’t usually shoot anything still life or product related, but I was really pleased to be asked to help create the latest assets for Misfits, a brand who produce a great range of vegan plant-based protein bars.

The opportunity to finally work with Millie from Set Sisters - who I had connected with last year via the platform The Dots - was also too good to resist. 

Rich Saint-Ford, the creative director had come up with a concept for the shoot that revolved around an American high school theme, for which Set Sisters did what they do best - namely coming up with great settings in which to capture products as well as people. This included some old gym flooring sourced on ebay, along with an old school locker and velvet curtains.  

I feel fortunate to have worked with such a great team. The shoot went so well in fact, that we finished significantly earlier than intended, and Rich had made his image selections before we even left the studio. Efficiency indeed.

You can see final images from the shoot here.

I thought it time to revisit a favourite shoot from a few years ago.

I’m not sure how it happened, but there was a period when I began re-watching films from the 90s that had a common thread; they were either set in New York and/or they involved basketball (White Men Can’t Jump, Above the Rim, and He Got Game, for example). 

image courtesy of Vanity Fair

I had also recently been to the excellent Basquiat: Boom for Real exhibition, billed as first large-scale exhibition in the UK of the work of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. One image that really stuck in my mind was the picture that was taken of him for a cover feature done by the New York Times in 1985.

image courtesy of The Guardian

I felt inspired to put together a shoot that involved the simple premise of getting someone in a suit playing basketball. My friend Javan fit the bill perfectly. Javan is one of the best-dressed people I know, and when I put the idea to him he was fully on board.

I had already scouted some locations to shoot in and a quick trip to a sports outlet to buy a basketball was the only other thing I needed.

We initially shot outside a hoarding opposite Bond Street station in London’s West End. I loved the blue colour and thought it would be a great place to get some shots of Javan dribbling the ball towards camera. As ever with shooting in busy locations like this, it took a little patience to wait for quiet moments in between the crowds of shoppers but we eventually got enough shots to move onto the next location.

And it was from West to East we went. Bethnal Green, to be precise. I got my favourite shots in a nearby outdoor court I’d scouted the week before. We finished up by shooting outside building covered in graffiti, where I was able to do my take on that New York Times cover.

A big thank you to Javan for his patience and for taking direction so well during the shoot. You can see more images  HERE.

If you haven’t heard of Clubhouse, lemme put it to you in a nutshell… it’s the professional version of Houseparty. Clubhouse is a platform for people to converse in groups (or ‘rooms’ in this case) and a place in which networking happens in a very different way to LinkedIn.
At the time of writing this article, Clubhouse has more than 2 million users and it’s growing exponentially with every passing week. 

There is a hunger for a fresh way for people to connect authentically 

Yes, we’ve got the likes of LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. But, Clubhouse is built on audio-only chatrooms, which provides the immediacy of a phone call without the self-consciousness (and need to be camera-ready) associated with being on a live video platform. 

It is very addictive 

I have spent entire days just having my phone logged into Clubhouse, because the conversations that are being had are so genuine and in many ways, insightful. You can log into rooms where there are experts in every possible field, ready to dispense their wisdom, advice and tips. 

It has potential to be a new broadcast platform 

Influencers and popular podcasters are already hosting rooms on the platform, and it’s not inconceivable that Clubhouse could add things to the app such as the ability to host live podcasts that can then be recorded and re-purposed for use on other social platforms. One Tiktok user I spoke to with 600k followers says he already spends more time on Clubhouse than Tiktok right now because he recognises how popular it could become, and has decided he wants to get in at early adopter stage to establish his presence. 

This is not just for the GenZ or Millennial generation 

The age range of users on Clubhouse is not purely confined to GenZ-ers or Millennials, and we’re seeing plenty of people establishing a following and influence who are in their 40s and 50s, such as venture capitalists, business coaches and successful entrepreneurs. 

 It has monetisation potential 

Although there is no way for creators and influencers to monetise from Clubhouse yet, there is no doubt the app will look to build this in as soon as possible. Depending on how delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine goes, we could be moving about more freely in the latter half of 2021 and spending less time on our devices. However, with current restrictions in place across the world, our screen time isn’t letting up. Clubhouse is ideally placed as a platform to connect with like-minded people, have authentic conversations and share knowledge in a way that could keep us glued to our phones for some months to come.