An account by day, Lee Jeffries started his stunning series of portraits of the homeless after a young girl, huddled under a sleeping bag in the streets of London, caught him snapping a candid shot. Instead of walking away, the photographer came over to talk to her. After hearing her story, he could no longer sneak shots at distance. These portraits of people from Europe and United States, spotted by Dangerous Minds, reveal incredible detail — graying ringlets of a long and tattered beard, an eye clouded with glaucoma, wind-blown strands of hair caked with cigarette ash, ridges of deep wrinkles and scrapes. They also reveal the real intimacy that needed to be established between the subject and the photographer in order to capture an image that feels authentic as opposed to exploitative. See some of these incredible faces in our gallery.
Courtesy Lee Jeffries
Courtesy Lee Jeffries
Courtesy Lee Jeffries
Courtesy Lee Jeffries
Courtesy Lee Jeffries
Courtesy Lee Jeffries
Courtesy Lee Jeffries
Courtesy Lee Jeffries
Courtesy Lee Jeffries
Courtesy Lee Jeffries
Courtesy Lee Jeffries
Courtesy Lee Jeffries
Courtesy Lee Jeffries
Courtesy Lee Jeffries
Courtesy Lee Jeffries