He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.

What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people.

Maori proverb

I’ve always lived a little bit outside the square.

Growing up in an isolated farming community in the North of England with no TV, I became absorbed instead in the stories of the people around me. That’s where I’ve trained my focus ever since.

I arrived in Aotearoa/New Zealand on my honeymoon.

What was meant to be a year-long round-the-world holiday is still going 20 years after my husband and I left the UK. Life remains an adventure, just with three kids and a dog in tow.

I view the world through a unique lens. Though I didn’t know it at the time, my career began at 16, shooting black-and-white images of friends.

Now an award-winning commercial and lifestyle photographer with a diverse portfolio, I’m known for getting the best out of subjects across countries and cultures.

Every shoot is a collaboration between us, driven by my core values of inclusion, inspiration, and equality.

My clients include:

AA — AA Insurance — AIA — AIG — Airbnb — Allianz — Amazon — American Express — AMP — ASB — Barclays — BBC News — Bupa — Chemist Warehouse — Cigna — Clems BBDO — Colenso BBDO — Commenwealth Bank — Cort Community Housing — BBD — FCB — Frankie Magazine — Fujifilm — HSBC — MitoQ — NIB — QBE — Southern Cross — Spark — Stanley St — Stuff — The Guardian — The Sunday Times — TradeMe — Condé Nast Traveller — Vodafone — Westpac — Woolworths — Wunderman Thompson — Yellow

What becomes of me?

In 2003, Jessie Casson, a young honeymooning photographer shot and interviewed 26 teenagers throughout Latin America about their hopes and dreams. Almost two decades later she’s left New Zealand in search of those same teenagers. This time, travelling with some extra baggage: her three children aged 7, 9 and 13. It’s time to start a new story.