Sue Packer

‘the taking of the photograph was relatively easy. It was the research, the building of a trusting relationship with the subject and waiting for the right moment that took the time and hard work.’

Packer photographed girl students at Cheltenham Ladies College like 1950s debutants. She taught on the documentary photography course at Newport with Daniel Meadows and David Hurn in the 1980s while also making her series The Babies, a project she continued as her infant subjects grew up. Her photographs focus quietly on the overlooked or unexpected, such as Pets, her series on people and their animals.