Home News Oswestry Photography chosen to capture stars for Prince’s Trust

Oswestry Photography chosen to capture stars for Prince’s Trust

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Care Johnson

Care Johnson, 18, has been working with the internationally renowned photographer at his London studio to shoot the campaign’s advertising images. This includes established industry faces from the worlds of fashion, food, photography and design, including fashion designer Zandra Rhodes, food writer and chef Gizzi Erskine, beauty entrepreneur Liz Earle, designer Wayne Hemingway and interior designer Kelly Hoppen.

The Tomorrow campaign will see six Trust-supported young people paired with established industry leaders to create a product that will be retailed nationwide to raise funds for the charity.

The campaign aims to celebrate British talent, champion young people as the industry leaders of tomorrow and inspire the next generation at a time when more than a million young people are out of work.

Care had been struggling to find work before The Prince’s Trust helped her to set up as a photographer. At the age of 16, she left college and moved away from her home in Yorkshire, becoming estranged from her family.

Her love of horses led to the start of a successful career as a head show groom at a large showing yard in Telford. After completing a busy season, Care’s career was going from strength to strength and she was offered a dream job exercising horses and competing in shows.

But just five months into the job, a mild childhood allergy became severe and Care was admitted to hospital twice. Reluctantly, Care accepted her doctor’s advice to stop working with animals.

Care was devastated by the news and set about finding a job. With few qualifications and the country in recession, she struggled to get work.

As a head show groom, Care had used professional camera equipment to take photographs at horse riding competitions. She explains:

“It just came naturally to me and I had always enjoyed it. I decided that if no one was going to give me a job, I was going to create one for myself by becoming a photographer. I was sick of being turned down when I was desperate to work.”

Care secured a Prince’s Trust Development Award to buy a digital camera and completed a six-month internship in a photography studio.

Care excelled and was offered sub contracted work. When the internship ended, the teenager decided to go it alone and applied to The Prince’s Trust to help her. The youth charity awarded her a £1,000 loan to buy a lighting kit and a telephoto lens.

Care’s projects have ranged from local tourist brochures, agriculture shows, baby shoots, dog agility classes and a commercial shoot for Farmer’s Weekly.

Care was chosen from a number of Trust-supported photographers across the UK by Rankin to work with him on the advertising creative for The Prince’s Trust Tomorrow campaign. She said:

“To be chosen to work with Rankin on the amazing Prince’s Trust Tomorrow campaign is a dream come true! I had such a great time on the shoot and learnt so much. I can’t thank The Prince’s Trust enough for helping me to turn my life around, so the fact that this campaign will be raising vital funds to help other young people, is the icing on the cake.”

Rankin, whose commissions have included HM The Queen, said:

“I became involved with the campaign because it’s really important to show support for creative young people, especially the most disadvantaged. There’s a lot of young talent that goes unnoticed, as there isn’t always the means to break through and get out into the world. Cracking the creative industry is incredibly hard – young people need as much encouragement as possible, and we owe it to them.

“I was really surprised by Care’s approach to work – it’s very mature for somebody so young, without any formal training. What I found so striking was her resilience. You need a lot of that in this business. When she developed her allergies and could no longer work with horses she said: “If no one is going to employ me, I’m going to employ myself.” That is admirable, and very brave – you have to have that fighting spirit. At 18, she is now self-employed and building up a portfolio of commissions, having turned her passion for photography into a pay check. I think she has a great future.”

He added: “All of the young people I photographed have worked hard to get to where they are today. This is what the Prince’s Trust facilitates, and it’s an incredibly worthwhile cause.”

The images taken by Rankin and Care can be seen on a new website, www.princes-trust.org.uk/tomorrow, which provides advice, inspiration and support for unemployed young people struggling in the current climate. Joanna Lumley, Jamie Oliver, James Caan and Alan Titchmarsh are among those who have shared their stories of how they reached the positions they are in today.

Youth charity The Prince’s Trust helps change young lives. It works with 13-to-30-year-olds who have struggled at school, have been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law. Last year more than three in four young people helped by The Prince’s Trust moved into work, training or education.