Photographing Hadley Freeman’s Battle with Anorexia for The Sunday Times

Hadley Freeman is a prominent journalist and author who has written extensively on fashion, style, and culture. Her recent book, “House of Glass,” explores the history and secrets of her family, including her grandmother’s escape from Nazi Germany. More recently, she has opened up about her own struggles with anorexia, a serious and often life-threatening eating disorder.

For The Sunday Times cover story about her battle with anorexia, we wanted to create a powerful image that captured the complexity and impact of this disorder. The broken mirror that Hadley is holding in the cover image represents the distorted self-image and negative self-talk that often accompany anorexia.

In the second image, Hadley’s portrait is visible on one side, while on the other side, her image is fragmented and distorted by the broken glass. The effect is haunting and symbolic, conveying the struggle of trying to reconcile one’s self-image with the distorted perception that can come with anorexia.

For the third concept, we chose a composition distorted mirrors to represent the distorted reality in which people with anorexia get trapped.

As a photographer, my mission was to create a series of images that captured the full spectrum of emotions that Hadley’s story encompasses. I wanted to do justice to her strength and resilience, while also capturing the raw vulnerability and pain that come with her journey. Through a delicate balance of lighting, composition, and styling, we worked together to create the images that told her story in a way that was both beautiful and meaningful.

The images were used by The Sunday Times, The Times and, The Sunday Times Culture.