An interview with Bath based commercial, portrait, travel & interiors photographer Toby Mitchell

“I was given an internship at CEREAL Magazine as a photography intern. After six months of mentorship under Rich Stapleton and Rosa Park, shooting all over Europe and a lot of brilliant learning curves, I left with my images published in their magazine and guidebooks, which ultimately was the tipping point/kickstarter to the beginning of my commercial photography career.”

Son of a jeweller and an architect, Toby was on a path to a creative expression from a young age. Raised in Bath, UK, Toby’s eye has been informed by tranquility, colour and natural beauty. Firmly rooted in a lifestyle aesthetic, his work spans travel, portraiture and interiors.

Toby has developed a unique style that exudes warmth and clarity. His eye for detail and his clean, minimalist approach has led to commissions from a diverse range of hospitality groups, global brands and agencies such as Anglepoise, Eurostar, Facebook, Made Thought, Moet Hennessy and Soho House.

Editorially, Toby’s international credits include Conde Nast Traveller, Cereal Magazine, Monocle and Travel & Leisure.

Hi Toby, thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule for us here at M-mode. Can I congratulate you on a wonderful portfolio, I love the soft mutual aesthetics you achieve in your work.

What has been keeping you busy recently and have you been effected much in the last year?

Thank you, that’s very kind!

I think if you haven’t been effected in the past year you are living in a massive bubble of privilege! Jokes aside (kind of), absolutely I’ve been affected. Normally, as I’m sure many other photographers will know, a career in photography can feel like waves and for me, COVID just accentuated the intensity of them.

I do feel grateful though, as recently bookings have become really strong and consistent again; the latter bringing the most relief - agencies and production companies are full steam ahead with shooting again and being able to rely on there being a steady stream of work again has been nothing but a breath of fresh air.

I’ve recently been working on a few commissioned projects - I shot a new hotel, an ad campaign, a showroom and a few other bits and bobs. A really lovely Spring full of work to be honest - I’m very grateful. I really do miss the travelling though…hopefully we will be able to do that again next year.

Could you tell us a bit more about your past, your ethos and how you approach your work currently?

For sure. I’m self-taught and began in the world of photographer shooting weddings at the age of 18. Originally I wanted to be an airline pilot and had all my eggs in that basket. I took an A-Level in photography as something different to try to my academic subjects after some encouragement from a friend and absolutely loved it. I found so much joy in the process of shooting to retouching (retouching being a very generous term for an enthusiastic 18 year old who had no clue what he was doing).

Anyhow, I failed all of my A levels in academic subjects (I was just no good at them, I did try) and got full marks in Photography. I switched colleges and continued a path in creative arts, which was much more suited to me.

After leaving college I simply took the jump and went full time as a freelance photographer. I lived at home with my parents still at the time, so had no outgoings (that was my unfair advantage) and just went for it.

At the start of the next year (2015), after making an approach, I was given an internship at CEREAL Magazine as a photography intern. After six months of mentorship under Rich Stapleton and Rosa Park, shooting all over Europe and a lot of brilliant learning curves, I left with my images published in their magazine and guidebooks, which ultimately was the tipping point/kickstarter to the beginning of my commercial photography career.

These days my works pivots around lifestyle and travel. I shoot a broad range of subjects from hospitality briefs, travel editorials, interior shoots and music industry commissions. I absolutely love the diversity in the work I can put my hand to within the lifestyle & travel genre - it’s so open to interpretation.

I am a very driven person by nature, and I want to win. Therefore for me, having real (not Instagram) friends and community around me, who know and love me, to correct me and encourage me has been essential. I’m conscious about my ego and I make effort to make sure I’m not being led by it when I can. Also with those friends I just mentioned, they keep me in check if they see me saying some ego-centric bullshit online or in person. It’s healthy.

In regards to my working practise, rest is an important value to me. I don’t care what anyone tells me, you need one day off a week at least as a human being to function without running into burnout. I take two days off a week (generally the weekend if I can), switch of my phone, spend time with my wife and really lean into resting.

Generally I love to keep photography the main thing. I love all of the business side to running a business, but when things are busy, it can be hard to keep on top of everything.

I’m very privileged to have an incredible management team in London who manage my bookings, calendar and production planning. This was something I sought out to achieve keeping photography the main thing and also to put someone in my life who would be the bad cop and negotiate my rates, fees and licensing. Having someone who can say no is so important! So yes, having an agent has been an absolute game change and a central part of how I can approach my work in the way that I do.

What an incredible CV for someone so young. Your apprenticeship at Cereal under Rich Stapleton must have been an invaluable experience.

There seems to be an abundance of talented photographers out there all pushing for the top work, do you see the future of photography changing as more platforms enter the forum or do you feel traditional methods will remain?

The more Art & Creative Directors I meet the more I realise that they can see through the iPhone photographers and recognise a real photographer (one who shoots with a DSLR, ha!) when they see one. Yes there is definitely an ocean of photographers, but to make it your full time career you have to work so. dam. hard. to make it happen or even begin stepping on the ladder of being established.

The folks that persevere, are talented and give it everything are the ones who make it above the noise. I really admire photographers who have done this, it’s super inspiring when you hear of the stories of photographers with 15-20 year careers.

Truth be told though - I have no idea. Who knows?! At the end of the day the people who commission me still look at my website and pick up the phone, which is how things have been done for a long time. Instagram and the other apps coming out are extensions (valuable ones!) and I think there will be a lot of empathise from brands on apps like tik-tok. But hey, that’s not for everyone! Definitely not for me.

I’m sure the phone will keep ringing for many years to come.

What is the interior and architectural scene like in your area? Is this where do you do most of your work?

I grew up in Bath, England so have always been absolutely spoilt in regards to living somewhere beautiful. Everywhere you look you see unique and gorgeous demonstrations of extraordinary creativity within the architecture of the city.

I would say interior work is about 30% of my professional practise. Quite often interiors will find their way into hospitality briefs too - such as shooting a hotel, which will cover, lifestyle with models, brand shots, food, amenities and of course, room shots.

My dad is an architect and I think I’ve inherited his love for structure and buildings. I never really shot interiors on purpose, I just saw interesting frames and shared them online, the work came naturally from that, which has been a real gift.

It’s a beautiful city…I know it well…haha…

How do you find having/working with an agency?

It’s been the best move of my career so far. Having an agent isn’t for everyone, which I totally respect and understand. For me though, having a team who, when I’m out of a job are soliciting, finding, negotiating and managing work is mega.

It’s really nice to feel like you have ‘colleagues’ as in the world of photography, life can often be very solitary - with no one aside from your loved ones to share the highs and lows with, having an agent/management, who gets the nuances of the photography journey has been wonderful.

Also like I said before, having someone to say no, negotiate usage terms, fees, client expectations is 10/10. Then I can just be the nice guy who turns up after all the boundaries have been defined and delver a collection of photographers.

Having an agent also has the benefit of being exposed to their network of clientele and contacts, which is brilliant in regards to helping you grow and find new work.

I’ve always considered it…if one will have me….It must be nice having all the admin etc getting sorted behind the scenes and giving you the freedom to just do the shoot and get paid!

As a photography community we love a bit of gear talk, could you tell us what equipment you have in your bag and enlighten those who aren't familiar a little bit more about your process.

Haha! The more I’ve been doing this photography thing, the more I treat my cameras as tools rather than luxury items. I shoot all Canon, as thats the brand of camera my uncle gave me when I was younger and I’ve simply stuck with them. Robust, gorgeous skin tones and reliable - Canon are a brilliant camera maker, I love them.

I shoot my commercial, ad and interiors work on a 5DSr and I’m looking to add an R5 into my inventory soon too so I can begin implanting motion capture into my offering.

My lens inventory is simple: 24-70, 16-35 and a 50. Im hoping to add an 85 this year (I love that focal length!) but I generally hire any additions in for shoots that need it.

Over the past year I’ve been using flash loads in my professional work. I use Profoto B10+s, which are brilliant compact lights that deliver a high quality tone of light of which I love. I’ve really been intentional to educate myself about flash over the past year or so, as knowing how to shape, use and implement artificial light is an essential asset to your tool belt. I used to be so scared of using flash, but I absolutely love it now!

Generally speaking though, I like to keep gear simple; buy the best that you can afford and hope it will last a long time. I don’t like carrying too much stuff around either, so I try to keep everything within 1 or 2 Peli cases as well as a backpack and stands bag. Nice and easy! Anything else can be managed by a production hire company direct to a job.

I love those lights, they were a game changer for me.

As my own personal work progresses, I look around at others work and see so much incredible work! Do you have any advice for keeping motivated and pushing yourself forward?

Surround yourself in community and don’t isolate yourself. We are made for connection! Don’t scroll before bed or when you wake up, exercise, eat well, watch movies, read books. So many things you can do. I play flight simulator on a Saturday because it re-charges my batteries like nothing else and makes me happy, which In turn keeps me sharp for Monday morning. I’ve decided to stop being ashamed of that! We are all unique and find happiness in lots of different quirky things and activities.

Find folks that are well ahead of you and try to build relationships with them. As you grow as a person, as your view of the world evolves, so will the export of imagery that you produce.

I also find refuge in meditation and reading of the scriptures in the bible. I love my faith; it’s something that is sacred and very real to me and has been my whole life. I find all of my meaning and purpose within it! Which makes things easier when it comes to normal hurdles like not finding my identity in what I do.

Good advice, we’re a knowledgeable bunch but can be slighting backwards in coming forward. Well welcome to the M-mode community, we welcome you with open arms.

Where do you draw your inspiration from and how do you go about creating your stylised look?

I usually find inspiration in music and cinema. My mind goes wildly out of control into other world when I submerge myself in those mediums and I feel so alive when those moments happen. Inspiration definitely isn’t found solely in Instagram, I often feel more jealous and dis-satisfied with my life after a long IG binge, but it is an essential ‘tool’ for growing a photography business.

I’ve not intentionally gone and found a style, I think I’ve just produced work in a tone and manor of which I love. Liking your own work is a big deal for an artist I think - you will create within the manor of which you think something is beautiful. That’s what I did and that’s what I shared, which I’m glad for because now I feel the work people see has artistic integrity to it!

Do you have a favourite thing you like to shoot and why?

Nature; it comes easily and I feel alive and inspired whilst I do it. Not working to a brief or under the eye of an AD is also wonderful, so when you are creating for you, that stuff is the real shit. I love the beginning and end of the day as well as exploring new countries and discovering new landscapes. There is nothing like it - nature wins!

Ah…who doesn’t like nature…apart from Donald Trump?

What would say the highlight of your career would be to this point?

The moment I realised that taking photographs was going to sustain me and my wife’s life for the significant future. There is nothing like earning a living doing something you love, it’s an absolute gift and I do not take it for granted.

Do you have any favourite photographers that inspire you and anyone you think we should be keeping an eye out for?

Oh my gosh are you serious? Oceans of them.

-Tyler Mitchell

-Rich Stapleton

-Finn Beales

-Justin Chung

-Annie Leibovitz

-Joe Greer

-Jonathan Gregson

-Matt Holyoak

-Mark Sanders

The list is literally endless. There are so many mega photographers that I adore the work of and hugely admire for their candour and careers.

Some great names….Lastly, what has been your favourite takeaway in all the lockdowns?

Life is fragile, you are loved, walk slower….

Great to have Toby with us a few weeks ago for his takeover and many thanks for him taking the time for such an in depth discussion about his work, philosophy and career so far. We wish you all the continued success.

If you wish to see more of Toby’s work, please click the following links - Website - Instagram