Tom Oxley

June 26, 2025

Q: WHAT DOES “NEVER CONFORM, ALWAYS EVOLVE” MEAN FOR YOU?

To “never conform” means having the courage to stand up for your beliefs and the depth of conviction to trust in yourself and your path. It’s easy to settle for acceptance, for comfort, or for validation beneath your true value. But real strength lies in resisting that pull.

"Always evolve”. Anyone who’s taken real risks early in life—whether they succeeded or not—has grown in stature for it. That growth is the reward. Life shapes you. Whether it’s through setbacks, pain, risks that didn’t pay off or broken relationships, every experience (positive or negative) carves a new part of your character. If someone is still the same as they were years ago, they simply haven't let life shape them. Life will change you, it’s an inescapable fact, it all depends on how much you’re willing to partake and enjoy the ride.

Q: WHY ARE YOU A VOICE OF DEFIANCE?

I chose creativity over conformity, even when I was told it wasn’t for me. Not out of rebellion for its own sake, but because sometimes the only way to build something real is to go against the grain, to reject being told who you are or what you're capable of.

That defiance becomes a compass. It shows me the power of connection, expression, and doing things on your own terms.

Q: WHAT’S ONE WAY YOU HAVE DEFIED THE ODDS?

I’ve always felt like I had to defy the odds. From being told in school that photography ‘isn't for you', to breaking away from the predetermined path “you’re supposed to follow” when you’re not from a major city, and opportunities are noticeably more scarce.

On a professional level, I feel I defied the odds again when I launched Face to Face, a moving portrait exhibition using large-scale projection video portraiture. Most people said it was technically impossible to pull off on a personal budget, but I persevered. If I say I’m going to do something, I’ll do it. Sometimes the results are different to how you imagined them, but it will get done.That perseverance paid off, turning those shows into a success and offering a fresh, innovative way to experience pop-culture portraiture, in the 21st century.

Q: WHAT’S THE HARDEST CHOICE YOU’VE HAD TO MAKE?

Hardest choice? I think it was sacrificing every penny I had, and all of my time, in developing a professional career, leaving friends and family, to go it alone at a young age, in a strange new city, where there was no home, no support, no friends or regular income. Terrifying really when you think about it now, but when you’re young, you don’t think like that, you just get on and do it.

Q: WHAT LESSON DO YOU LIVE BY?

Many determine success/failure as a binary thing and it’s far more nuanced than that. The complexity of what you try to achieve has so many more unseen values that are immeasurable, and in the long term are far more beneficial to you, even if it’s not obvious at the time. The lesson is to keep going and make sure any mistakes made (of which there will be many) are learnt from.

Q: WHO OR WHAT SHAPED YOUR APPROACH?

Music fundamentally shaped my approach to life and work. I was fortunate to grow up in an era when even in a smaller town, you could still see bands play regularly. The gig circuit was thriving, and live music was accessible to everyone, regardless of age or location. That kind of organic exposure to culture seems to have vanished. These days, unless you live in a major city, those transformative live experiences are harder to come by. Instead, many are left with algorithm-driven feeds serving up forgettable, disposable music, something they have no real connection to.

There was a 12-month period, starting in December 1993, that completely blew my mind. The shows I saw, the records I listened too, all ignited something in me that still fuels what I do to this day.

TOM'S BIO

Tom Oxley is a renowned photographer working at the heart of the music, film, and pop culture industries. His work is driven by a lifelong passion for music and an enduring curiosity about the human condition. With a distinctive visual style and a commitment to authentic storytelling, Tom has built an international reputation for capturing some of the most iconic figures of our time.

His photography is regularly featured in leading publications worldwide, and he remains in high demand by major record labels and artists alike. Over the years, Tom has collaborated with an extraordinary range of globally recognised talent, from Amy Winehouse and Adele to Rihanna, Liam Gallagher, and many more in between.

In addition to his editorial and commercial work, Tom has developed a unique visual language through exhibitions that blend still photography with video, creating immersive ‘moving portraits.’ These innovative pieces have been showcased at prestigious venues, including a groundbreaking two-night exhibition in the main hall of London’s Royal Albert Hall - the first of its kind by a photographer - and most recently, at the world-renowned Lowry in Manchester.

“Combining photography and working with musicians is the absolute dream. There are times when you’re in the middle of an incredible shoot, that you do have a little moment of clarity and realise just how good this job is! It still amazes me to this day that you’re able to work with such musical legends, all because you have a little mechanical black box and some glass in your hands.”

“When you have the time to really think about work created in the past, you do realise just what a privileged position it is to be a photographer. It is difficult to accurately articulate the array of feelings and emotions you get from this area of photography. Not only are you able to shoot such images at the time, but you also get to see them being enjoyed by so many other people years afterwards. You’ll have to believe me when I say, it’s one of the closest ‘jobs’ you can have, that is close to being perfect.”

Selected Artists

Adele, Amy Winehouse, Arctic Monkeys, A$AP Rocky, Biffy Clyro, Blur, Cee-Lo Green, Coldplay, Danny Brown, Deadmau5, Drake, Ellie Goulding, Fever Ray, Florence & The Machine, Grimes, Jack Savoretti, Jake Bugg, Jimmy Page, Johnny Marr, Kings of Leon, KSI, Kygo, Liam Gallagher, Lily Allen, London Grammar, Mark Ronson, Mumford & Sons, New Order, Nicki Minaj, Martin Garrix, M.I.A., Noel Gallagher, Paul Weller, Queens of the Stone Age, Rihanna, Russell Brand, Stereophonics, The Prodigy, Tyler, the Creator, The xx.

Selected Clients

Apple, Rolling Stone, NME, GQ, Brazilian Vogue, Q, Vice, Elle, The Guardian, The Observer, Nylon, Spin, The Times Magazine, Design Week, 1883, Private White VC, Red Bull, Sony, Puma, Pretty Green, Zara, Disney, Tod’s, Monster Headphones, Wella, Topman, Casio, AMY (Documentary), BBC, Channel 4, Virgin Media, Atlantic Records, B-Unique, BMG, Domino Records, Beggars Group, Virgin, Island Records, Kitsuné, RCA, EMI, Universal, Columbia Records, Mercury, Warp, XL Recordings, Mute, Warner Music, Parlophone, Sony Music, Ed Banger, Polydor, Ministry of Sound, Cutty Sark, Bacardi.

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