Lucia O'Connor-McCarthy (St 05-07) is a fashion and portrait photographer celebrated for her evocative visual storytelling. Her portfolio showcases a profound understanding of human emotion, establishing her as a prominent figure in contemporary photography. Lucia has photographed many high-profile figures such as Florence and the Machine, Gwen Stefani, and Daisy Lowe. Her work has been featured in prestigious publications including Condé Nast, Harper's Bazaar, The Telegraph, and Tatler amongst many others. We are delighted to interview her in celebration of World Photography Day 2024.

Lucia, what first sparked your interest in photography, and how did you choose to specialize in fashion and portrait photography?

Initially, it was actually at Rugby that I was first introduced to the medium when I was 16 - I elected to study photography at AS Level and made good use of the amazing facilities and darkroom - I hope they are still there! I fell in love with the use of photography for story-telling and a lot of my early work was quite narrative driven which is how I ended up in fashion - the models, locations, hair and make-up and styling really allow you to create a fantasy. As I was shooting a lot for magazines, portraits naturally took on a large portion of my work as I started working with talent across fashion, music and film. 

Can you describe the progression of your career from your early days as a photographer to where you are today?

Throughout my earlier education I felt that the acceptable career choices were essentially Finance, Medicine & Law & I had never really considered much outside of that. I went to university at Trinity College in Dublin with the intention of eventually becoming a lawyer. However, my camera came with me and it was really there that I began my career in fashion. Starting early meant that things moved fairly quickly for me in some ways as I met a lot of other like-minded creatives in Dublin / London who I worked with alongside my university studies. By the time I finished university I had had an exhibition, been published in magazines and taken on commercial work as a photographer. Following graduating, I was approached by several agencies for representation and I think this is when I felt I could actually move forward with photography as a career. I think in the early days I didn’t know where my work would take me, I just knew I didn't want to stop shooting and I definitely no longer wanted to be a lawyer. I think something really special about looking back at where I started is also looking at the people I started out with and where they are now - some of them have had truly incredible careers and I feel privileged to have worked with and in many cases, still do work alongside them today.

Your portraits convey a deep sense of intimacy and emotion. What techniques or approaches do you use to connect with your subjects and capture these moments?

Having good people skills and being very present at shoots is important - often there is a lot going on with production leading up to a shoot & on the day itself which can be chaotic so I think making sure you are really there and connected to your subject is vital. Structure can be important on set when there are specific shots you need to get but my favourite way of shooting is when it’s more relaxed and there is more room to experiment and more freedom to explore with the subject - those always end up being the best images.

Can you share a specific project or photograph that holds particular significance for you, and explain why it stands out?

I’ve been really fortunate to travel with photography and been to some beautiful locations to work. A project I always look back on was a cover story I shot in Fogo Island, Canada. We had a great team, shooting a beautiful model - Charlotte Carey, in an incredible environment and I really loved this shoot. We were up at the crack of dawn to shoot across the island, surrounded by trees, rivers and sea. It was freezing and Tona Stell, our stylist had wrapped our model up in every piece of luxury knitwear possible for the shoot. We stayed at the Fogo Island Inn, which was luxurious in a very Hygge way, they gave us all hand knitted socks and they have an incredible chef who cooked the most beautiful meals using produce from the surrounding land. The shot on my homepage of my website is from this story and I love it.

What have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your career, and how have you overcome them?

I think my greatest challenge has been very recent. People often ask how you stay creatively energised and motivated as an artist. I had never had too much difficulty with this in the past as I have always found a lot of inspiration and comfort being behind my lens. However, a lot of things happened all at once in the last couple of years. The covid pandemic was a very difficult time for a lot of people and as an artist, like many others, a lot of my shoots had to be heavily restricted or cancelled altogether for quite a long period of time which was disheartening. My mother then passed away suddenly towards the end of the pandemic and I felt for the first time in my life, completely un-anchored and uninspired or motivated to shoot. Shortly after I lost my mother, my father was diagnosed with cancer. It was a lot to contend with and during this time I felt my creativity & motivation to work was very impacted. I chose to step back from my work and focused on my myself and my family. Bit by bit the pieces have slowly come back together but life is full of challenges and I think it made me realise how important it is to acknowledge when you need to step back from everything and focus on yourself and heal.

Were there any memorable experiences, teachers, or lessons from your time at Rugby School that have influenced your approach to fashion and portrait photography?

I joined Rugby in sixth form and really felt that outside of academia they encouraged students across the board in art, music and sport. The fact that I could study photography was very novel, especially as we had our own darkroom, access to cameras, lighting equipments and post production software. One of my photography instructors also introduced me to french photographer Sarah Moon’s work who I found incredibly inspiring during my early days as a photographer. I’m grateful to have had this experience and certainly feel it impacted my career path.

How do you envision your photography evolving over the next few years, and where do you hope to take it?

The industry is constantly shifting with a lot of focus on social media and infIuencer marketing in fashion in the past 5 years or so which has inevitably meant more time in the studio with faster turnarounds needed for images. However, in the next year I would like to return to shooting more on location as this is where I feel most inspired and shooting more analog and going back to the darkroom where it all began.

For more information about Lucia O'Connor-McCarthy, please visit her website.