A Photographic Life-353: 'Photography in the '90s with Jake Chessum, James Dimmock and Chris Floyd'

In this special conversation Grant Scott speaks with photographers and founders of The Farringdon Print Shop, Jake Chessum, James Dimmock and Chris Floyd, to reflect on editorial photography in the 90s and creating a platform to monetize their joint archives. Jake Chessum’s timeless and engaging celebrity portraits have appeared in many prestigious publications and the range of celebrities he has been commissioned to photograph span the worlds of film, politics, sports and music. Born in Croydon, South London, Chessum studied at St. Martin’s School of Art and after graduating began his photography career in London, where his first commission was for Elle magazine before he started working for The Face beginning an enduring relationship with the title. In 1999 he moved permanently to NYC where he continues to live. Jake has published two books: The New York Look Book in association with New York Magazine (2007), and a self published book: Rubbish (2009). www.jakechessum.com Instagram: @jakechessum James Dimmock completed a degree in at Wolverhampton Polytechnic, and the following week moved to London looking for work. Weeks turned into months. Standing outside Metro Studios in Farringdon dejected. Along came a perky photographer and asks him what's up? The photographer was Jake Chessum who listened to Dimmock's story and gave him the name and number of the owner of a studio and said to mention him. James began his career shooting for British style magazines The Face and iD and began to work in the US photographing Moby and Bono for the cover of Spin magazine. This was swiftly followed by Metallica, Radiohead, and AC/DC for Rolling Stone. When the US work offers piled up James relocated and he now lives in the U.S. with his wife, and their two daughters. www.jamesdimmock.com Chris Floyd is a British photographer born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. He moved to London in 1990 to pursue a career in photography having completed a BTec Photography course. In 1994, he started working for Loaded magazine as well as The Face and Dazed & Confused and his photography became associated with the era of ‘Britpop’. He was selected for the National Portrait Gallery, London Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize in 2008 and 2013. Chris has also photographed advertising campaigns for international brands. As a director he has produced moving image work for Avis, Anthropologie, Mr Porter, UBS, and The Smithsonian. Chris lives with his family in the Cotswolds, UK. www.chrisfloyd.com www.farringdonprintshop.com  Dr.Grant Scott After fifteen years art directing photography books and magazines such as Elle and Tatler, Scott began to work as a photographer for a number of advertising and editorial clients in 2000. Alongside his photographic career Scott has art directed numerous advertising campaigns, worked as a creative director at Sotheby’s, art directed foto8magazine, founded his own photographic gallery, edited Professional Photographer magazine and launched his own title for photographers and filmmakers Hungry Eye. He founded the United Nations of Photography in 2012, and is now a Senior Lecturer and Subject Co-ordinator: Photography at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, and a BBC Radio contributor. Scott is the author of Professional Photography: The New Global Landscape Explained (Routledge 2014), The Essential Student Guide to Professional Photography (Routledge 2015), New Ways of Seeing: The Democratic Language of Photography (Routledge 2019), and What Does Photography Mean To You? (Bluecoat Press 2020). His photography has been published in At Home With The Makers of Style (Thames & Hudson 2006) and Crash Happy: A Night at The Bangers (Cafe Royal Books 2012). His film Do Not Bend: The Photographic Life of Bill Jay was premiered in 2018. © Grant Scott 2025