Lens Magazine

AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH TOM MUNRO

We are incredibly excited, and it’s a great pleasure to feature an interview with TOM MUNRO, one of the most influential photographers of our generation.

His story exemplifies determination and inspires young photographers from all over the globe.

After shooting for the world’s most prestigious brands and having seen his work on magazines covers and on Times Square’s billboards, he took his skills and knowledge to the next level by directing music videos with Madonna, a successful collaboration that made a mark in the whole film, fashion, and music industry and led to further films including commercials for Giorgio Armani’s Si' fragrance starring Cate Blanchett, Dolce and Gabbana' Wild about Fall,' Tom Ford' Lips and Boys.

More recently, during a lockdown, Tom shot & directed Breitling’s launch of their first female-only Spotlight Squad campaign, 'Chronomat.' Directed over the internet from London on three separate occasions in three different time zones, Charlize Theron in Los Angeles, Misty Ponte in New York, and Yao Chen in Beijing. Not a small challenge, given the three women, were later brought together in the edit room to appear as if they were in the same studio, on the same set, at the same time.

Giorgio Armani’s 'Prive' fragrance campaign with Jackson Yee was also directed & shot over the internet, with Tom in London and Jackson Yee in China.

In the early 1990s, Tom moved from London to New York to study at the prestigious Parsons School of Design. While still working as an assistant in New York in 1996, Franca Sozzani of Vogue Italia took Tom under her wing, with covers and editorials for Italian Glamour and later for L'Uomo Vogue and Vogue Italia.

Munro embarked on his own photographic career in January 1997, while signing with his first agent in January 1997, shooting his first editorial for British Vogue just three months later, in March 1997. A run of Vogue covers soon followed, with Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Stella Tennant, and Nicole Kidman. These caught the attention of Liz Tilberis at Harpers Bazaar U.S. In September 1997, Tom found himself in Milan shooting his first collection story for the publication. He'd already shot two collection stories for British Vogue. Within three short years, by 2000, Tom was shooting for Anna Wintour at Vogue U.S.

His dedication and passion for his craft has attracted the industry’s leading designers and brands, such as Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Givenchy, Guerlain, Saint Laurent, and Tom

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