About Sam
Insight into the life and work of Director and Photographer, Sam Barker.
Sam Barker is a multiple award-winning photographer on both sides of the Atlantic including a D&AD Yellow Pencil for HSBC’s Living River on Gatwick Airport’s Skybridge in 2017. Sam’s signature cinematic lighting style has led him to be commissioned for Advertising campaigns for the likes of Hugo Boss, BBC, Glenfiddich and Land Rover, shooting subjects as diverse as Lewis Hamilton, to tribal chiefs in Africa and the world’s most successful CEOs.
The youngest son of 15 children by the poet George Barker, Sam spent his childhood in rural Norfolk surrounded by artists and writers. After a near fatal motorbike accident aged 19, facing amputation and unable to work, he enrolled in the prestigious London College of Printing. Sam graduated with a Distinction in Photography and a job as an assistant for Matthew Donaldson. Within a short period of time his work was spotted by The Telegraph, shooting amongst others, a then rather green, Benedict Cumberbatch for Sue Steward on the Arts pages. Commissions started to follow from the likes of The Sunday Times, GQ Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar. It was not long before his work was picked up by worldwide publishing houses and advertising agencies with commissions for sport, finance and portraiture.
Sam is also a regular contributor to the National Portrait Gallery where he has 14 portraits in the permanent collection recently shooting David Attenborough to commemorate his 90th Birthday and Tim Peake to celebrate his first mission into space. Barker has also collaborated with Irvine Welsh on his past five book covers and San Miguels latest campaign.
Sam Barker now shares his time between London and New York. His passion for great pictures and adventure has also seen him shoot travel stories and personal projects in Iraq, Ethiopia, and Columbia and Bhutan…just don’t let him get on a motorbike.