Every photographer sees the world, and the events that take place within it, through different eyes. We are all a product of our times, circumstances and inheritance and inevitably form opinions and make judgements based upon what we have chosen to learn and what life has taught us. There are therefore as many ways of perceiving a subject as there are photographers. Everyone inevitable adopts a different approach - just watch a group of club photographers on a day out.

How you choose to portray a subject is consequently very much a personal matter, and in work of any depth the portrayal and the photographer will be inseparable. For example, when photographing an elderly man in desperate circumstances you might choose to highlight the dignity of old age, or encourage charitable donations in support of a relevant global cause. Inevitably, personal perceptions and interpretations will be reflected in both images.

As photographers' develop over the years, and their work evolves, evidence of their interpretation of subjects becomes more obvious. Eventually, their images tell us as much about the views and attitudes of the photographer as they do about the subject material itself.