With an academic background in philosophy, I came to photography with an interest in how images structure belief, how they subjectively steer narrative and how they shape culture. My work centres on community, hope, dreams, identity and faith as defining elements of the human condition. in 2025 I enrolled in the world famous MA in Documentary Photography at the University of South Wales to further explore these themes academically. My practice sees me to work across portraiture, staged/near documentary and research driven visual storytelling, I explore themes of memory - the subtle unknown mythologies embedded in everyday life. For me Photography is a way of engaging critically with representation while remaining sympathetic to the emotional truth that underpins human experience.
Belstaff, Vogue, Toast, Island Records, The FT, Vice, PINK, Topshop, Sony, It’s Nice That, Waitrose, Airbnb, Forbes, The Observer, Wonderland, ELLE, American Express, Crack Magazine, Martell, Forbes, The Guardian, VW
"Port Talbot UFO Investigation Club"
2023, GOST London
245 x 306 mm portrait
136 pages, 67 images
ISBN 978-1-910401-98-9
“Eat What You Grow"
2021, Hatchet London
192 Pages, ISBN: 9780857838988
“Forest: Walking Among Trees”
2019, Pavilion Books London
256 Pages, ISBN: 9781911595267
“Head Gardener”
2016, London
120 Page photo essay
Solo show 'Port Talbot UFO Investigation Club' Club FFotto Newport, Wales 2025
Solo show 'Port Talbot UFO Investigation Club' Oriel Colwyn, North Wales 2025
Solo show 'Port Talbot UFO Investigation Club' Photobook Cafe, London 2024
PhMuseum Days 2024
International Photography Festival in Bologna, Italy 2024
OFF Bratislava, 2024
IPA Winners 2024 Photo Fest (monograph), 2024
Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize, The National Portrait Gallery 2024
Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize, The National Portrait Gallery 2023
Summer Exhibition, The Royal Academy 2021
Dazed & Confused
BBC
BBC ii
CNN
Huck
The Guardian
AnOther
Evening Standard
Fisheye
Juxtapoz Magazine
Blind Magazine
Creative Review: Belstaff
Its Nice That: Sunshine Blessings
Its Nice That: Pets at Home
Represented by
BAILEY WADE (Worldwide)
Tom@baileywade.co.uk
hiroo@roolewis.com
Instagram @roolewis
Roo Lewis is a British documentary photographer whose work explores belief, community and contemporary myth. His research driven projects combine portraiture and staged approaches exploring how images shape emotional life and the narratives we use to understand ourselves.
Roo’s portraiture has been commissioned by the UK’s most respected publications with his work being featured by The Observer, BBC, Dazed and Confused, AnOther Magazine, Fisheye, Huck, ZEIT and many more. His latest monograph, Port Talbot UFO Investigation Club (GOST 2023), explores the power of hope, dreams, identity and faith. Photographs from the book were shown at the National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Academy and have been acquired by the National Archive.
His clients include Vogue, Sony, Toast, Nike, Belstaff, VICE, Island Records and many more. Currently Roo is undertaking an MA in Documentary Photography at the University South Wales where he is developing his next monograph exploring the concept of dreams and cultural memory.