Photographer Laura Coulson's intuitive process

“I shoot people, places or things because I think they are worth showing and celebrating, whether they are very obviously beautiful or not,” London-based photographer Laura Coulson tells It’s Nice That.

“I’m more drawn to characters who aren’t always used to having their photo taken.” Among those characters you might count Anneli Howard, a barrister at Monckton Chambers who worked on the legal challenge over Theresa May’s right to invoke Article 50, who Laura was commissioned to shoot by Vogue. She’s also shot an impressive list of household names – like The XX and blue-eyed American model Lucky Blue Smith for the cover of the Evening Standard – and she’s probably best known for her fashion photography for the likes of Heroine, Vogue Paris, Wonderland and Riposte (she shot Kelsey Lu for their latest cover).

“When it comes to shooting fashion I’m fairly spontaneous and work best when things aren’t overly planned or structured, as you never know what can happen on the day,” Laura says of her work. “Which is why I much prefer shooting on location because the unexpected can sometimes make a picture.” While her shooting process may rely on intuition, Laura’s DIY production process is more laboured as she shoots on film, and prints her own images in a darkroom.

Lately, Laura has been keeping busy working on two fashion editorials, with one for Heroine magazine and one for Sleek. “The commission from Sleek to go to Moscow was incredible and generally my favourite type of commission,” she says. “Going somewhere new with fresh eyes and not fully having a plan can go two ways, but with this project I’m happy with the outcome. I just wish we had more time there to travel around.”