Jack Bridgland: The London photographer who breaks everything

Flashback. Jack is 18. No degree in his pocket, just a camera and an obsession with flashy colors and striking lighting. He tinkers, experiments, and shoots his friends in improbable settings. Ten years later, this kid from London has transformed his delusion into an empire. In 2020, he launched JB Studio Ltd. A bold move. At the time, some laughed: "A studio at his age? He's dreaming." Except Jack isn't dreaming, he's working. Hard. And brands are snapping up his style—that mix of surrealism and nostalgia that takes you back to the MTV videos of yesteryear.

Picture this: January 2025, Jack Bridgland posts a photo on Instagram. A guy with a turban, a background saturated with retro colors, and a vibe that screams '90s. The shot goes viral. Not surprising, coming from him. This British guy, barely out of his teens when he started, now dominates the fashion photography scene. But where did this guy come from, and why does everyone—from Diesel to Kim Kardashian—want to work with him?

Take his photos of Robert Pattinson for GQ in 2022. A hit. Pattinson, hair all messed up, lost in a setting worthy of a Wes Anderson film on acid. The internet exploded. Fans loved it, purists grumbled: "It's too much, it ruins the classic portrait." My opinion? So much the better. Classic photography reeks of mothballs. Jack, on the other hand, brings something fresh, something alive. He shoots like he breathes: unfiltered, with nerve.

And the numbers follow. In 2024, he's launched a string of campaigns: Diesel in June, Ray-Ban in October, SKIMS in April. Millions of views on his Instagram posts – 386,000 followers, and counting. Every brand wants his touch. Why? Because Jack doesn't just sell an image, he sells an emotion. You see his photos, and bam, you're 15 again, in front of your old cathode-ray tube TV. But with a modern twist that will blow you away.

By the way, let's talk about his business. JB Studio Ltd isn't just a cool name. In 2023, the company reported a turnover approaching £500,000, according to Companies House. Not bad for a "kid" who started out in his bedroom. However, it wasn't all rosy. In the early years, Jack struggled. He says in an interview with V Magazine : "I slept on couches, ate noodles for months." That humanizes the guy, doesn't it? Behind the flashy colors, there's a guy who's worked hard.

But why does it work so well? Context helps. Fashion today runs on nostalgia. The '90s, the '00s, everything is back: low-rise jeans, VHS clips, grunge vibes. Jack is riding this wave, but he's also breaking it. He takes these references and twists them, blows them up with exaggerated lighting and poses that border on the ridiculous—in a good way. Look at his campaign for Jean Paul Gaultier in March 2024: models in offbeat poses, popping colors. It's divisive. I love it. Others will say it's too loud. What do you think?

His impact goes beyond fashion. Jack redefines what we expect from a photographer. Before, you had the big names—Annie Leibovitz, Peter Lindbergh—with their timeless portraits. He says fuck that. He shoots Travis Scott for GQ , and you wonder if you're in a magazine or on a psychedelic trip. He shoots Billie Eilish, and she becomes an icon of another era. As a result, young photographers copy his style. In New York, in London, you see kids with Nikons trying to recreate his vibes. Proof that he inspires.

But not everything is perfect. Some criticize him for surfing on the hype without depth. "It's empty visuals," said one critic on X in November 2024. True or false? I'm leaning toward false. His images tell a story, even if it doesn't jump out at you. You have to dig deeper. And let's be honest: in a world where everything moves fast, who has time for subtlety? Jack delivers what we want: punch, escape.

So where's he going? 2025 is shaping up to be huge. He's teasing projects with Apple Music, still-secret collaborations. At barely 30, he's already shot the biggest names: Justin Timberlake, Penelope Cruz, Central Cee. And yet, you can tell he's hungry. "I want to blow everything up," he said on Instagram in December 2024. Sounds promising. You, reader, do you already have a favorite among his photos? I'm betting on his next big thing. Jack Bridgland isn't just a name. He's a bombshell who's not done blowing up.