Lotto behind the scenes
Behind the scenes as a Lotto winner’s life changes forever
A life-changing and emotional day
I was recently lucky enough to be commissioned to shoot Lotto behind the scenes for Camelot, the company who run the National Lottery, on the day that a £10 million Lotto winner was announced and presented to the press. It was an emotional afternoon for John Bowman from Forfar and his daughter Emma who were very calm despite the life-changing events of the previous few days.
Telling the story
This was my favourite type of brief offering the opportunity to work creatively and freely behind the scenes to tell the story of a pretty special day for a family from Fife. Documentary photography is all about storytelling, finding the narrative and a producing a sequence of images that conveys the feelings and the passion to others. The days of a single image of the grinning winner spraying champagne are no longer enough – people want the full story, the pictures need to make them feel the excitement and tension for themselves and having the opportunity to work to a brief like this is one of the reasons why I love my job!
Meet the press
So on top of the shock of seeing their bank balance increase by about seven zeros, John and Emma found themselves facing a bank of journalists, photographers and TV crews. It’s a pretty difficult thing for a seasoned professional but when you’re not used to the limelight it can cause some serious emotions and apprehension. The pair were amazingly composed despite the nerves beforehand and it was wonderful to see their affection and closeness during the moments when they weren’t in front of the cameras. Their relief was palpable when it was all over, when the press had finally packed up and gone away to file their stories and send their pictures.
