ABOUT ME

When I look back on my life so far, two things stand out as playing an important part: being visually aware and being part of a crowd. As the youngest of five children, being around lots of people became second nature to me from an early age, and with an architect father and an art teacher mother, I was constantly being encouraged to look, and to create pictures, whether in my own head or on paper.

In 1988 after graduating from Nottingham University with an Art History degree, my first job was in picture research, but I joined the BBC soon after in 1989 and became a book editor and commissioning editor for most of my twenties.

It wasn't until I was 33, and planning a two-month trip to India, that I bought my first professional SLR film camera, encouraged by a travel photographer friend. A light was switched on and I was hooked.  I resigned from my job and in 2002, and after various courses, a diploma in Professional Practice at the London College of Printing and a short spell of assisting, I set up my own business as a full time photographer.

I now work between two bases – Suffolk and Central London (Barbican). Whoever they are and whatever the brief, it is a privilege and a joy to meet and spend time with people, to capture something of who they really are and to deliver what they are looking for in an image or set of images.

To discuss your ideas or requirements further, please contact me at anna@annamccarthy.com or on 07811 242266.