Photographing the Taoiseach

It could be a little daunting to be asked to photograph the leader of your country, especially during a global pandemic. Micheál Martin TD, had been elected Taoiseach for just a few months, when Eolas Magazine commissioned me to produce a series of portraits of him (between lockdowns), for an interview feature.  

While I had photographed Micheál Martin when he was leader of the Fianna Fail party in opposition, I knew that this time, it would be very different. As my time with him would be short, I had to have my lighting and setups sorted before entering the office, then complete the photography, while social distancing and being masked. 

It may not be the Oval office - more of a D shape - but it is very large and when you enter, you can feel the gravitas of being in the most powerful office in the country. The session went really well. The Taoiseach was friendly and relaxed as we went through my setups, particularly given the pressure that he was under (He announced another lockdown in a national address, the following day) and the images ran over a number of pages in both Eolas and Agenda NI.