The fun of going to the press preview for this exhibition is the chance to meet the photographers who are there and also some of the subjects. The most striking subject of the morning was Captain Beany taken by Roo Lewis. Barry Kirk, AKA Captain Beany established the world’s only baked bean museum from his council flat in Port Talbot in South Wales. Dressed in very striking orange suit, and with beans tattoo’d on his eyebrows, he cut a spectacular dash next to the photograph taken of him in his Captain Beany outfit, resting at home.

I enjoyed meeting Rona Bar and Afek Aveshalom who specialise in photographing couples in their homes. This shot is of Roy and Josef, both tattoo artists, with their daughter Jude in Tel Aviv. I loved the baby’s direct stare at the lens and the striking language of the tattoo decorations.

These are just two of the large portraits by Keshmara from the series Vogue: The Arab Issue. Each shot is surrounded by tin cans and create a very eye-catching display at the back of the exhibition.

I liked this shot by Philippa James of her daughter, Lucy, in the glasses, and her 14 year old friends as they scroll their phones creating Tik Tok films. Lucy strikes a pose that, as James says in the notes on the wall, might have been learned from viewing other girls on social media.

These photos all caught my eye. I think what I like about them is the information we glean from the expression on the subject’s face. You can see that there is a thoughtfulness about all of them. The viewer can imagine the thoughts but the words from the photographer on the wall next to the picture provides a useful context.

The Taylor Wessing exhibition is on show at the National Portrait Gallery until 25th February 2024.