"My name is Simon Pella and I’m a fashion photographer based in East London. Originally from Canada, I moved here to pursue photography more seriously—with the hope that one day, it’ll actually pay the bills. I’d describe my work as low (often zero) budget, high quality, aesthetically pleasing, and narrative-forward. I’m all about telling a story through lighting and styling. To me, those are the two most important elements in fashion photography—because they’re what truly separate strong imagery from weak.
"Why is it that women in their later years are always styled the same—Karen bobs, “divorcee” cardigans, and a sad glass of red wine in hand? Why can’t they dress camp, be carefree, and have a wild night out? The concept behind this shoot titled Just Girls was simple: create an editorial that highlights older women in a way we usually only see Gen Z depicted. From there, the hardest part was building a team. I didn’t know a single creative in London, so I started cold DMing and emailing people whose work I admired. Thankfully, some incredibly talented folks were kind enough to lend their time, and after months of searching, I found the team who brought this vision to life.
"As a full-time waiter, I’m usually working with little to no budget on personal projects. But for this shoot, I invested a bit—paying for the location, feeding the crew, and renting some key gear. I shot on my Canon 6D, alternating between an on-camera Godox flash and a Profoto flash with a snoot attachment. I wanted the images to feel like they were snapped by an invisible third friend tagging along on the night—candid but still elevated. The single-flash setup helped create that illusion without compromising on image quality. My editing workflow is always the same: organize all files on a hard drive, make selects in Lightroom, and do all final edits on RAW files in Photoshop.
"There are so many artists who influence me—both creatively and personally. Right now, I’m especially inspired by Petra Collins (fellow Canadian!), Elizaveta Porodina, and Szilveszter Mako. Each of them has such a unique, instantly recognizable style—which is what I’m working toward for myself. That’s the dream: to create work that people can spot a mile away and know it’s mine."
@simonxpella
Credits:
PHOTOGRAPHY: SIMON PELLA @SIMONXPELLA
CREATIVE DIRECTION: SIMON PELLA @SIMONXPELLA
STYLIST: PHOEBE BUTTERWORTH @PHOEBEBUTTERWORTH
MODEL 1: INGER MOSS @INGERMOSS62 (MODELS1)
MODEL 2 : FRANKIE PARK @PARK.FRANKIE (MRSROBINSON)
HAIR: SANDRA HAHNEL@SANDRAHAHNEL
MUA: ALAN KITRELL @ALANKITRELLLL
ASSISTANT: KATARINA ZANNIN @VAKYCATCA
Companies
Dazed Media
- Publishing