With a keen interest in identity and subcultures and a fine art photography background, Paul Samuels is especially talented at photographing people.
In 2012 he was awarded the prestigious Tierney Fellowship, and began work under the mentorship of renowned South African fine art photographer Jo Ractliffe. Using colour, light and shadow to create heightened mood, Paul is able to transform a feeling or idea into a striking image. As exhibited in his evocative fashion editorials and campaigns for numerous publications and brands.
Paul’s commercial work features this same sensitivity to subject matter. His contributions to Loerie award winning campaigns include "Doom - Fly on the Wall" in 2017; "Joburg Ballet - Breaking Ballet" in 2018 and "Saint - The Wolf You Feed" in 2019 as well as making the Loeries Top 10 Photographers List in 2019. Paul spent two weeks on the road travelling through Kenya, Mozambique and Uganda shooting local celebrities for a Coke campaign, and transformed players from the under 25 Lions rugby team into super heroes in post-production for Vodacom’s ‘Sin Bin’.