The picture of The Thames, however, was no ordinary one. Bob Lambourne, a Graphic Designer Charlotte had met earlier in her career, blew her away with his artwork and inspired the thinking which ultimately led to the launch of her new business, Shot Collective. As Charlotte prepares to open her first exhibition celebrating London and all its beauty, the very first print from Shot Collective and the shot that proved to be the catalyst for a new photographic movement, will be arriving at Buckingham Palace this week.

Shot Collective is a commercial community for photographers and consumers to unite, connect, explore and share their experiences of London. Collectively, Shot Collective showcases the beauty we could see on our doorstep every day, if only we looked at things through the eyes of someone who hadn’t seen it before. 

Charlotte, who started her career in a record shop, studied design & business at university, spent most of her time in a dark room whilst others on her course were learning how to use photo shop. She always appreciated art, creativity and found that she was often influenced by her surroundings. Charlotte enjoyed feeling connected to her community and has always been incredibly social aware, understanding that every action has a response and having a firm belief that everyone is able to make a difference to the world we live in.

Charlotte’s career took off when she presented a campaign to the head office of the record store she was working in; the creative flair and commercial awareness she showcased led to a role in product innovation at Unilever and ultimately a successful agency career. Charlotte has worked on a number of commercial projects with a wide variety of clients ranging from Supernanny.com through to automotive monster, Ford.

Upon leaving her agency career, Charlotte combined her digital knowledge, creativity and entrepreneurialism to develop a marketing consultancy business that she called, All Is Well. The business was created mainly because of a trip Charlotte made to Mumbai in 2009. The trip had a profound effect on Charlotte. She says, ‘I became fascinated by the sheer ingenuity and resourcefulness of the people in Mumbai. It’s outstanding and certainly most inspiring to see how a business can be created out of literally anything and often in the smallest spaces’.

Charlotte fell in love with Mumbai, India, its people, its imagination and its inventive nature. Whilst Shot Collective was nothing but an idea waiting to be realised at this stage, it is apparent that it changed the way Charlotte looks at things and brought about her desire to get others to do the same.

This year, people will be coming to London from all over the world and we should proudly celebrate all the city has to offer.