Joann Randles is a multi award-winning Welsh press photographer based in Swansea, known for her compelling portraiture and evocative storytelling.

Born in Carmarthen and raised along the Pembrokeshire coastline in Tenby and Saundersfoot, Joann’s creative roots run deep. Her passion for the arts began in early childhood and has since developed into a distinctive career that not only champions Welsh identity but also elevates press photography to an expressive and artful discipline.

With a family lineage that stretches back centuries in Wales, Joann’s connection to her homeland is intrinsic to her work. Her photographic practice reflects a profound sense of place, culture, and heritage, celebrating the richness of Welsh life through powerful visual narratives.

Working predominantly on location and often in challenging conditions, Joann operates solo on her photoshoots, mastering natural and artificial light with the precision of a painter.

Her artistic influences are rooted in the classical traditions of fine art, most notably Rembrandt’s dramatic chiaroscuro and the dynamic compositions of Renaissance masters such as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. These references are woven into her photographic technique, infusing her portraits with depth, motion, and emotional gravity.

A defining feature of Joann’s work is her specialist role as a professional press photographer, a field that demands not only artistic vision but also rigorous adherence to journalistic ethics. Press photography is unique in its constraints: unlike many forms of contemporary photography, where digital manipulation is commonplace, press images must maintain factual integrity. This means that all of Joann’s portraits, both those exhibited here and those published globally, are captured entirely in-camera. Only minimal post-processing adjustments are permitted, such as subtle colour correction, cropping, and removal of dust spots.

This restriction places a premium on technical skill, precision, and timing. Joann must “get it right in-camera” in the moment, relying on her mastery of lighting, composition, and subject engagement, often under intense time pressure or unpredictable environmental conditions.

It is this commitment to truth, paired with an unmistakably artistic eye, that makes her work so distinctive within the press photography genre.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Joann expanded her visual storytelling practice, bringing her background in filmmaking into sharper focus through still imagery. Her striking photographs from this period gained wide recognition, and her work has since been exhibited in renowned institutions such as the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), and featured in leading national and international media outlets, both in print and online.

Joann is especially celebrated for her ongoing work documenting Welsh folk dance and the cultural life of Wales. Her portraits vibrantly express the traditions, identities, and communities of her nation, making Welsh culture accessible to global audiences through the universal language of visual storytelling.

“Joann blurs the lines between photojournalism and art.”

Glen Marks, Cover Images.