Phil Poynter is a British photographer and filmmaker known for work that is intimate, human, and emotionally direct.

 

He began his career in London in the late 1990s and was a founding member of the creative team behind Dazed & Confused, where his imagery helped define the magazine’s visual language and capture the energy of a new cultural moment.

 

His photography has appeared in leading international titles including Vogue, Love Magazine, W Magazine, Esquire and Vanity Fair, and has formed the backbone of numerous editorial stories and advertising campaigns. His work is characterised by a strong sense of presence, an instinct for character, and a refusal to over-polish.

 

Alongside photography, Poynter has built a significant body of film work, directing fashion films and music videos that explore identity, youth culture and self-expression with the same raw sensibility found in his stills.

 

His advertising work includes the widely recognised Barnardo’s campaign addressing child abuse and mental health, which received a D&AD Award and is often cited for its emotional clarity and restraint.

 

Poynter has also edited and commissioned photographic books with publishers including Booth-Clibborn Editions and Phaidon Press.

 

He continues to work internationally across photography and film, bringing a quietly confident, human-centred approach to everything he does.