Both chosen and by blood: James Pearson-Howes photographs models with their families

Back in 2018, the photographer James Pearson-Howes was about to do a model test, and, as normal, the model turned up to set. But what wasn’t normal about her arrival was the fact that she turned up with her father and sister, something James had never experienced before. “It struck me how rare it is to see a family behind the model,” he says, “and that left a real impression on me.” It’s true, while we’re so used to seeing models in front of the camera, we so rarely get insight into life outside the flashy shoots. Who are the people who make the model the person they are? The people who’ve known them since birth, or, the people who’ve come to form their close-knit support network.

Initially, James planned to create a series called Good Genes – models in their homes with their family, all wearing denim. While that’s a project James is still keen to make, the idea evolved during the Covid pandemic, as families became harder to see, and their significance therefore intensified. What’s more, having many “thought-provoking” conversations with models and their families, the focus soon moved away from fashion, and toward the importance of family. Soon, the project gained a new name, Model Family – a name with dual meaning, playing on the models involved and, perhaps ironically, if there is any such thing as a ‘model family’. Alongside the portraits, James also created home-video-style short films using b-shots, to capture “subtle, micro movements – how someone holds themselves next to another person or the way they touch them”. James continues: “These small, simple gestures can say so much about their relationship.”

Approaching the project with a portrait-driven, documentary style, James cites Nick Waplington’s images of everyday life in 1980s Nottingham, a series titled Living Room, as a key influence; “partly because it reminded me a bit of my own upbringing and also because of the intimate nature of capturing people in their own spaces”, James says. As the name suggests, Waplington photographed people in their living rooms, arguably a family’s most intimate space, and James had some trouble finding models who would be comfortable having James shoot in their homes. “Your home is such a personal space, and I feel incredibly grateful to these families for allowing me into theirs,” says James. “I think inviting someone into your home is a bit like therapy in a way – you have to open up, and there’s a real sense of vulnerability.”

From the very beginnings of the project, James challenged the traditional perception of the nuclear family. The first person he photographed was Oduenyi and their chosen family, someone James has since forged a friendship with. “I was fortunate that they were so open and honest with me,” says James. “I was struck by the immense love and compassion they had for their chosen family.” The image shows Oduenyi and their family sitting on a bed together, grinning and at ease in each other’s company – like the sitters, it’s hard for the image not to bring a smile to your face. And its made only the more pertinent by a quote from Oduenyi from one of theirs and James’ interviews: “The initial loss of a lot of family members, due to me just being myself, allowed me to access a way better and more beautiful sense of family and people and a way of existence that that I previously wouldn’t have had before.”

Other bonds captured show the difficulties that families can face, and how strong bonds help to overcome them. Like Leelah and her mother, a mother-daughter relationship that doubles us as a best friendship, the pair brought together by her parents’ divorce. Or Karan and his mother, a shoot James describes as a “memorable” moment. Shown sitting on Karan’s bed with him, his mother exudes a clear sense of pride looking at her son. “She had just finished a night shift, and hearing Karan talk about his understanding of the struggles his mother and family endured to bring him to safety was incredibly moving,” says James.

James made Model Family with one specific goal: to show the humanity that lies within everyone, and unites us all. “I feel we live in an ever fearful and divisive world, sadly driven by the media and politicians. As humans, I think it’s very important to understand our differences but equally important to see our similarities,” he ends. “I don't think there’s such a thing as a model family, but I do believe we all have the capacity to share deep love for one another, whether it’s through blood or not, and it’s these connections that truly define family.”