I’ve written previously here about the acquisition by the Scottish National Portrait Gallery of a 2019 portrait of Rose Reilly, pioneering women’s footballer, that I shot and how it is now displayed in the national collection, in Queen Street, Edinburgh.
I’m delighted to hear that Rose yesterday popped into the gallery to view her portrait, and was delighted to find the photograph hanging opposite a portrait of another legendary Scottish footballer, Danny McGrain.
It’s fascinating to hear what people think of how I photograph them and what they feel about how others view them. I think to some of the comments I’ve had from artists recently that I’ve been photographing portraits of and which will be exhibited and released soon as a new portfolio of work. Apart from the usual vanities it’s been interesting to hear comments about suddenly seeing their real age in their face, or from one artist she spoke of seeing her much younger and less confident self. Always interesting to hear what others think of how you photograph them.
I hope Rose liked her portrait and is pleased that it now hangs in the portrait gallery, small credit for the legend and pioneer that she is. A trully inspiring person to meet and photograph.
I get asked often “Who is the most famous person you’ve photographed?”, or “who is the most interesting person you’ve photographed?” And my answer to that second question these days tends to be “Rose Reilly”, and that comes down to listening to her story during an interview, and then during and after the photo shoot hitting it off with her, enjoying talking of careers, love, life, all while sipping an espresso and eating biscotti, a little touch of her Italian life and footballing days brought back to an afternoon in Scotland. These are the moments I photograph for.
Do go and see the portrait of Rose Reilly in the Portrait Gallery, it’l be on display for a while I believe.