Draft:Matthew Brookes

Matthew Brookes (born 1971) is a self taught British photographer working in between Paris, Los Angeles and New York.

Early Life
Brookes was born in Sheffield, England and raised in South Africa. After moving to Paris, France in 1999, he began his career in photography and was mentored by men’s fashion editor of Numéro Homme Magazine, Serge Girardi.

Career
As a commercial photographer, Brookes has shot covers and editorials for Vanity Fair, L’Uomo Vogue, Vogue, British Vogue, Vogue France, Vogue Deutschland, Vogue Spain, Numéro, T Magazine, Man About Town, L'Officiel , Madame Figaro and GQ.

He has photographed pop culture celebrities Charlize Theron, Adam Driver, Brad Pitt, Nicole Kidman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jude Law, Martin Scorcese, Helen Mirren, Chris Hemsworth, James Cameron, Javier Bardem, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Stewart, Kristen Scott Thomas, Jenna Ortega, Liv Tyler, Orlando Bloom, Margot Robbie,  Mark Ruffalo, Michael Fassbender, Monica Bellucci, Penelope Cruz, Isabelle Huppert, Robert Pattinson , Ryan Reynolds, Steve Buscemi, Sigorney Weaver, Jacob Elordi, Marion Cotillard, Alicia Vikander and Zac Efron.

His portraits of musicians include Lenny Kravitz, John Legend, Ricky Martin, Maluma and Future.

He has also photographed iconic sports athletes Anthony Joshua, Nicola Adams, Shohei Ohtani, Victor Cruz, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Erling Haaland and David Beckham.

In October 2018 Brookes photographed Charles III (then Prince of Wales) for the cover of British GQ Man of the Year.

Fashion campaigns
Brookes has photographed fashion campaigns for Giorgio Armani, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, Cartier, Banana Republic, Rolex, David Yurman and Breitling.

Books and Exhibitions
In 2015 Brookes published “Les Danseurs”, a series of photographs of the ballet dancers of the Opera de Paris. "Dance is one of the most difficult things to capture because it's all about motion," photographer Matthew Brookes explained. "The challenge is to capture a movement at its climax, and this is almost a gut instinct because it happens so fast."

In 2021, Brookes published “Into the Wild", a vibrant celebration of surf culture. Brookes followed a group of young surfers from Venice Beach on their adventures up and down the California coast, documenting van culture and surfers who have chosen to  exist solely for surfing, travel and freedom.

In 2022, Brookes first solo exhibition at La Caserne in Paris, “Togetherness” focused on capturing the spirit of connection, love and diversity between families and couples.

Publications