You can always tell from my pictures whether I like a photographer. However hard I might try to force a grin, there’s no faking the easy, relaxed pose you strike with someone whose company you genuinely relish.

I’ve been working with Ramsgate’s John Watts for a few years now, and he’s top of the list of togs that make me smile. We had a chat at my house recently before launching into a lingerie shoot - the results of which, as usual, were breathtaking.

John trained as a graphic designer, of which photography was a crucial part, and spent twenty years running a design consultancy in Mayfair… but a sudden onset of cluster headaches meant he had to give it up. “They’re called ‘suicide headaches’ by the medical profession, as the pain is intolerable. It was like living under a sword of Damocles, knowing in an hour I might be a screaming wreck.”

Art became his salvation. He opened a gallery in Blackheath, exhibiting some of his own work and some other local artists too, which gradually expanded into a picture framing business. In particular, he enjoyed photographing women. “People say to me, of course you love that, you’re a bloke! I guess that’s partly true. But it all stemmed from my school days. An art teacher saw something in me and arranged for me to go to life-drawing classes, aged 16. I struggled for the first couple of weeks. I’d never seen a naked woman before! It was really rather difficult to concentrate….”

Of course, creativity only manifests itself with a subject about which you're passionate. I’ve no visual sense, but I can only write about something I urgently need to express. John nods in recognition. “Creativity is a passion, not a choice. It’s in me and I have to do something with it. We tend to think of creativity as ‘being arty’, but actually it’s a state of mind expressed through art. In photographing women I feel I’m not just creating but giving something back - and the bit you’re giving back can be life-changing. I don’t see the end result as a picture of a woman, but a total entity.”

Anyone can draw, John insists, but not everyone can really see. “Life-drawing teaches you about shape and form, light and perspective. If you can life-draw, you can draw anything. I fell in love with the discipline. And the desire to capture the female form continued in my photography. It’s always women, not men. They’re a completely different shape, obviously, and I feel an affinity with a womanly shape, irrespective of the size and shape they may be. The bulk of my work isn’t straightforward photography - it’s exploring what else happens with the light. I started producing some of my work as prints and selling them, and have exhibited at the Wooden Box Gallery. 95% of the work I’ve sold is bought by women, which thrills me, and proves I’m on the right path - I always set out to produce something sensual, not titillating; a celebration of women.”

Women in particular don’t see their own beauty, John believes; and nor, often, does society. There’s such pressure for women to look one particular way - thin, wrinkle-free, plumped lips. Women only notice their flaws, the fat stomach or lumpy thighs, and not their intrinsic beauty. John loves showing women how beautiful they are, and much of that beauty comes from their being at ease with their physical self.

'We had a chat at my house recently before launching into a lingerie shoot - the results of which, as usual, were breathtaking...'

“Putting another view back to that person challenges their self-image. I never use Photoshop to change a body - my work involves reflecting who they are from a different perspective, and then making those images art. I see the beauty in everyone, irrespective of size, shape, age. My work is about presenting a view of the real person back to themselves.

“It’s all about creating the pose and the light that works for the individual. Perfection is dull. It’s really tricky to create art from bland, symmetrical faces and figures. But imperfections make you beautiful and interesting. Equally I find shooting in studios quite dull - working in people’s homes presents a whole new set of challenges, fresh light and shapes. Or they can come to me, if they’d rather, or go outside, weather willing.”

Most of the women who commission John to capture one particular point in time are, like me, in their 40s, or older, frequently married, with children. He gives them a portfolio of different looks, and can get a work of art made for them. “Mostly I don’t use their faces. Then they can hang it on the wall and no one need know it’s them - unless they want to tell! Most women describe it as a precious little secret they can hug to themselves.”

You can find examples of John’s work with professional models on Instagram - @johngw72

For more information on cluster headaches, visit ouchuk.org

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