BAFTA & Grierson Award-Winning Director of Photography
Ian
Watts
Three decades lighting and shooting the stories that matter — documentary, music, history and factual film — from Ghana to Greenland. The story always comes before the shot.
Trusted by the world's leading broadcasters
The story comes
before the shot
I'm a BAFTA and Grierson award-winning Director of Photography, working across factual, documentary, history, crime, music and arts films.
Over thirty years I've filmed in more than fifty countries — from Ghana to Greenland — for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky, National Geographic, Discovery, Smithsonian, the Oprah Winfrey Network, NASA, and many corporate companies and brands.
I bring sympathy and understanding to whoever I'm filming, and I'm equally at home creating beautiful images in difficult conditions, and getting the once-only shot when there's no second take.
I have exhibited my photographs at the Victoria & Albert Museum and Outernet in London, and the Prada Foundation for the Venice Biennale. I am a British citizen, with a US I-1 visa, DBS approved, with my own professional broadcast kit.
“The story is more important than a series of great shots.”
A glimpse into
the catalogue
From Live Aid to Lovers Rock, Fela Kuti to the Windrush generation — four decades of music, history and the people who made it.
Built for
the commission
Every brief is different. These are the formats and genres where I'm most at home — and where thirty years in the field makes the difference.
01
Documentary & Factual
Observational, authored and landmark films where trust on the floor is everything. Single and multi-camera, any location.
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Music & Cluture Films
Performance, portraiture and music history — from Live Aid to the Royal Albert Hall. Intimate access to major artists.
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History & Archive
Archive-rich storytelling and sensitive contributor filming. A careful, unhurried approach to complex stories.
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Celebrity & Talent
Calm, trusted filming with high-profile contributors. Experience on both sides of the relationship.
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Brand & Commercial
Scripted sequences and brand films shot with a documentary eye. Efficient, beautiful, always on brief.
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Editorial Stills
Portraiture, music and exhibition photography. Work shown at the V&A, Outernet and Venice Biennale.
Available worldwide with kit • DBS approved • US I-1 visa • Conversational French
See the work
in motion
A few minutes across thirty years — the films, the faces and the light.
“He can make anything look beautiful. Anything.” Stephen Lyle — Commissioning, BBC
A fantastic cameraman with an amazing eye — always offering options, which is great under pressure.
Mark SoldingerFounder, Firecracker FilmsYour lighting angles were exceptional. It's great when you can relax knowing you can trust the cameraman.
Mica ParisSinger & PresenterThe shots all work beautifully. All of them. Thanks for being so on it — exactly what the project needed.
Fatima SalariaManaging Director, Naked TV