Join photographer Tami Aftab as she shares the process behind her acclaimed book The Rice is on the Hob — an intimate, playful, and deeply personal exploration of family, memory, and storytelling.
In this talk and Q&A, Tami will walk us through how she developed the project from idea to publication, offering insights into:
– Sharing personal narratives through photography
– Collaborating with family in creative work
– Designing and structuring a photo book
– Tips on publishing and getting your work out there
Whether you're working on a personal project or just starting to think about photography as storytelling, this is a chance to learn from someone who’s been through the whole journey.
Bring your questions, curiosity — and maybe a notebook.
Tami Aftab is an English-Pakistani photographer based in London. Her work explores intimacy, family, identity, and play, often approaching sensitive subjects with warmth and lightness. She first developed her practice through personal projects, including a collaboration with her father that examined his short-term memory loss through humor and staged portraiture. This series later became her debut book, The Rice is on the Hob, photographed in Lahore, which explored food, heritage, and the ties between memory and family, incorporating her father’s recipes. The work was exhibited at Have a Butcher’s gallery in London.
Working across fashion, portraiture, lifestyle, and personal work, Aftab’s photography is distinguished by vibrant color and a playful, spontaneous quality. She continues to hand-print much of her work, maintaining a strong connection to film and darkroom processes. Aftab has collaborated with clients including WePresent, Adidas, Apple, Burberry, Net-a-Porter, Stella McCartney, National Theatre, Atmos, and British Vogue. Her work has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery, the ICA, Peckham24 and The Photographer’s Gallery.
This event is part of our Develop programme. The programme is a new initiative that supports young people (aged 18-24) to work towards a commissioning opportunity with The Photographers’ Gallery.
Find out more about Develop here
The Develop programme is supported by Kusuma Trust UK and individual contributors.
By booking for this event, you agree to The Photographers’ Gallery’s Terms & Conditions