Johnny Carr discovered his passion for photography in the early 80’s, whilst watching his work appear in a developing tray in the darkroom of Batley Art College in the North of England, where he studied photography. Keen to express himself creatively, once in the studio, manipulating lighting, and developing ideas into tactile prints, he realised this was his destiny.
Johnny set up his own studio at the age of 23 and was very successful working on campaigns for breweries, jewellery companies, and shooting work for his old college friends ‘The Attik’. His first billboard poster appeared in 1991, a campaign for Barr soft drinks for the re-branding of Dandelion and Burdock, commissioned by BDH in Manchester.
His reputation was built on creativity, attention to detail, technical ability and lighting techniques. His talent was recognised overseas too, facilitating the possibility of working in some of the most beautiful places in the world including Paris and Sydney.
Over the years Johnny’s subject matter changed to fashion, people and lifestyle. His natural ability to get the best from the models and actors via his charismatic persona and communication skills opened his parameters into the world of moving image.
Today Johnny is regarded as one of the UK’s leading photographers and over the past couple of years he has been proving his worth as a director shooting campaigns for TV commercials for clients worldwide.
His directing work coupled with his creative and technical ability as a photographer, has made him an easy choice for agencies wanting to add something special to their campaigns. In his 20+ years as a commercial photographer, Johnny has worked with Creative Directors & Art Directors worldwide, and understands the process of communication. His treatments are often woven around stills to aid the comprehension of the story, allowing the client a full insight to the intended style of the commercial.
“Working with Johnny has been a very enjoyable journey from beginning to end, he is full of energy and ideas, he makes sure every element is thought through and considered and will do everything and anything to deliver a fantastic result. The results speak for themselves, and so I’m looking forward to our next project together.” Caroline Cawood, Product Marketing Manager, Mamas and Papas
Mamas & Papas
"Working with Johnny on the production of The Bridges advertisement has been an absolute delight. He is very hard working - nothing ever seems to be a problem. He is very professional and always goes above and beyond to ensure everything is done properly. He has a superb eye for detail." Stephen Drummond, Creative Director, Drummond Central Ltd
Drummond Central Ltd
“Apart from being multi talented Johnny is just someone you look forward to working with. He's a 'sunrise' type of person always looking for a better more interesting way of doing things - he's also got that rare ability that not all creative people have got, he's organised and practical. As a Creative Director I'm looking to work with people who can take the job on another 100% without losing the concept - Johnny understands how to communicate and never loses sight of this." Mark Martin, Creative Director, Different Ltd
Different Advertising
"We had the pleasure of working with Johnny for our live action shoot for MTV. His energy, creativity and attention to detail meant that we achieved fantastic results." Philip Ward - Executive Producer - Universal Everything
Universal Everything
"Johnny and I have worked together for almost 25 years. He has an ability to deliver creative and the technical quality we expect, but on top of that, his people skills and personality make him, in my opinion, pretty unique as a director / photographer." James Sommerville = Co Founder - Creative Director - ATTIK
Attik
Johnny had great enthusiasm and commitment to the concept and was passionate about achieving a brilliant end result.
Peter Saville
o2, Nike, GHD, Vidal Sassoon, Bentley, MTV, Audi, NHS, Barker & Stonehouse, Johnstone's Paints, Mamas & Papas, Newcastle College, PZ Cussons, Rowlands Pharmacy, Malmaison, DeVere Hotels.