Biography

Born and bred in Rome, my name is Christian Sinibaldi and I’m a multi-award winning photographer.
Since 2005, I’ve been part of a small group of freelance photographers working regularly with the Guardian. This has seen me covering assignments around the UK and worldwide, photographing people in a wide variety of contexts.

With great thanks to my camera, I’ve found myself climbing trees in the Cloud Forests of Costa Rica, walking the jungle in Colombia, navigating Argentina’s rivers, getting lost amongst Japan’s small islands but often spending days simply photographing people whilst observing and capturing real life.

Although I’m often having to deal with challenging situations or very busy and important people, I love a good conversation. Why? Well I find that this enables people to open up and relax, enabling me to take a portrait when time is inevitably ticking.

A university background in sociology, communication and advertising has definitely shaped my approach to the media. I use photography as a tool to explore human beings and their relationships. To connect empathically with my subject I have understood, through experience, how photography can cement and create human relationships. These special boundaries go well beyond any physical, mental or sociological limitation.

My passion and dedication lie in telling great stories, often highlighting human qualities and a sense of community. Over the last decade I’ve been actively photographing and engaging with my local community and its surroundings.
I’m very lucky to live in Hackney, East London which I consider to be one of the best neighbourhoods in the country. It’s a constant, deep vein of inspiration and some of these projects have seen me exhibit at the Hackney Museum through to other international Museums and Institutions.

I feel privileged that my work has been published across the world by prestigious media outlets but in truth I’m most proud of the personal projects that have acted as a community uniting. These showcase the collaborative and powerful nature of photography, demonstrating how the wonderful nature of human stories, small gestures and common threads can connect us in so many ways. Ultimately, a great photograph can spark a conversation.

Over recent years I have completed a number of projects across advertising, corporate and artistic sectors.
My work has been published in numerous worldwide magazines and newspapers, including The National Geographic, The Independent magazine, The Financial Times, The New York Times, the Irish Times magazine, Stern, Corriere della Sera, D di Donna-La Repubblica, USA Today, L’Internazionale, Rolling Stone Magazine, The Washington Post, Le Figaro', BBC, Newsweek and more.

I often work in collaboration with Design and Advertising Agencies helping develop visual concepts, imagestyles, photo libraries or following more specific art direction and guidance.

I also collaborate with many charities and NGO’s including MSF (Doctors without borders), Amnesty International, Age UK, Versus Arthritis, Oxfam and more

Commercial Clients include: The Lottery Fund, Selfridges, NHS, Cinzano, Kedrion Biopharma, Southern Railway, Camden Council, Hackney Council, Learning Trust, Manchester University, Brunel University, Goldsmith University, London City University, University of the Arts, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, the Metropolitan Police and more.

Since 2012 I've been on the UN's roster of pre-approved photographers, ready to photograph their peacekeeping missions at a moment's notice.

Exhibitions & awards

2023

AOP Open Award Finalist with “Cheerleading – Passion for Cheer”

Heart of the Nation, group exhibition by Migration Museum

Shortlisted for the 165 Royal Photographic Society Print Exhibition

Der Greif - 15th Anniversary Displays - Group Show with Passion for Cheers - Munich, Germany

2021

Award Winner of the Portrait of Britain 2021

Solo exhibition at Northampton Museum & Art Gallery with the 60 Miles Project

Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 21, National Portrait Gallery

Shortlisted for the Royal Photographic Society International Photography Exhibition 163

Honorable Mention in Tokyo International Foto Awards with Evering Road People

2020

Finalist in the Premio Ponchielli Award with Evering Road People

Award Winner. Silver winner in Book/People with Evering Road People in the Budapest International Foto Festival

Corona Call 2020 BY Sana Sanaa.
Evering Road People is one of the 25 projects selected by a panel of judges comprising 7 international curators, editors, publishers and artists for a group exhibition in Berlin, Nairobi, Lagos, Kigali and Cape Town

Winner of the Drum Award in Photography for the Versus Arthritis Campaign shot in collaboration with Re.Agency

Shortlisted for the Amnesty International UK Media Awards in the Photojournalism category

Finalist for the Siena International Photo Awards 2020

2019

Shortlisted for the ‘Portrait of Britain’ Awards 2019

2 Silver A’ Design Award for “Europ Assistance Brand Book” - congrats to Ragu’ Communication for the team result

2018

Award Winner of ‘Portrait of Britain’ 2018. National exhibition

Photomonth, Photo-Open ‘Women in the 21st Century’. Rich Mix, London

Shortlisted for the 161 Royal Photographic Society Print Exhibition

2017

Commended in the UK Picture Editors’ Guild Awards 2016 for Photo Essay of the year category

finalist for the 160 Royal Photographic Society Print Exhibition 2017

Finalist in the Portfolio Category and group exhibition at Fest Foto, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Finalist at the Siena International photo Awards 2017

2016

Finalist for the 159 Royal Photographic Society Print Exhibition 2016

Finalist at the Siena International photo Awards 2016

Call me by my name. Stories from Calais and Beyond. Londonewcastle Project Space, London

2015

Shortlisted for the 158 Royal Photographic Society Print Exhibition 2015

Solo show, ‘A vegetable garden in the Network’, EXPO Milan and Leonardo’s Vineyard, Milan

International Print Exhibition at Photography Show, NEC, Birmingham

2014

Award winner at the IPA, One Shot:One World Competition, 1st price, Exhibition in Los Angeles, USA

Hello Cazenove. Group exhibition, Hackney Museum, London

2013

Selected for the AOP Open Awards 2013, The Association of Photographer, London

Honorable Mention at the IPA, International Photography Awards 2013

Finalist for the Royal Photographic Society Award 2013, group exhibition, UK National tour

100 Images of Migration, group exhibition, Migration Museum Project, National UK Tour

2012

I’m Hackney, part of the ‘Mapping the Change’ exhibition, Hackney Museum, London

RPS Exhibition, ‘Selected Images: 1854 – 2012’, Bristol Festival of Photography, Bristol

2011

Selected in the Portraits category for the Press Photographer’s Year Award 2011, National Theatre, London

Shortlisted for the Digital Camera Photographer of the year 2011

Projection of Migrations at the Sainsbury Centre of Visual Arts, Norwich

2010

Shortlisted for the Royal Photographic Society Award 2010, group exhibition, UK National tour

Solo exhibition, Migrants, Viterbo, Italy

2009

Shortlisted for the Digital Camera Photographer on the Year 2009

3 Honorable Mentions at the IPA, International Photography Awards 2009

Solo exhibition, ‘ can see into your eyes’ Kings Place Gallery, Guardian, London

Award Nominee in Photojournalism at the 3rd Annual Photography Masters Cup Award

Talk and projection of ‘Who’s afraid’, Festival di Fotografia di Roma 2009, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Italy

Shortlisted at the Venice Photo Contest 2009, European Dialogue, group exhibition, Italy

2008

Solo exhibition, Migrants, Pingyao International Photography Festival 2008, China

Shortlisted in Digital Camera’s Photographer of the Year competition 2008

Solo exhibition, Migrants, Ex-Mattatoio, Montalto di Castro, Italy

2007

Selected in the Portraits category for the Press Photographer’s Year Award 2007, National Theatre, London

Solo/group exhibition, Eyewitness, Festival di Fotografia di Roma 2007, British School at Rome, Italy

2006

Group exhibition, Eyewitness: the bigger picture, the Guardian Newsroom, London

Shortlisted for the 149th Royal Photographic Society Award Print Exhibition, group exhibition, UK National tour

Shortlisted at the London Photographic Award, group exhibition, Calumet Gallery, London

2 Merit Awards at the Fuji Distinctions Awards 2006

2005

Solo exhibition, in collaboration with London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London

Merit Award at the Fuji Distinctions Awards 2005