Good People, Good Light
The Akintolas
For our first Good People, Good Light, we’re keeping it close and are starting with us. Jade’s dad came to visit for a few weeks, and we took the time to capture something rare: three generations in one frame and solo portraits of Mr Akintola.
Brandon: What was it like having your dad here for two weeks? Why was that important to you?
Jade: It was really great. We haven’t shared a living space in over ten years, so it felt rare and kind of amazing to have him and Tas spend so much time together.
I don’t know—it also sort of brought me back to my teenage years a little bit. I could see how I’ve evolved. You can feel the time that’s passed between us, in a good way, but also in a way that made me realize that we’re getting older and life is really moving. He was experiencing me as a mom now, as a wife, and he was here as a grandfather.
Brandon: You asked me to take his portrait. Why was that important to you?
Jade: Being away from home means having physical mementos—reminders of my family—is really important to me, and I don’t have enough.
I have one photo of my mum before she passed. It’s on my bedside table, and I see it every single day. I have photos of my older brother and sister in the living room that I cherish. But I was really aware that I didn’t have any photos of my dad—he was missing. I think about his life, all these memories from childhood and beyond that we don’t have, and I felt like this was a moment I wanted to hold onto.
Having him and Tas in a photo together is priceless to me—we’re not in London, we don’t see them all the time, I want Tas to have that presence in his space. I want him to grow up seeing these photos and those of both our families, to feel that connection, even from a distance.
Brandon: What was it like having your dad in the shoot with you and Tas?
Jade: Pretty special. I felt really proud. Having it at home made it feel casual but also really intimate. And when I saw the photos, I was like, “Oh. We’ve built something really special here.” You don’t think about the home you create every day, but seeing it in a picture makes you reflect on time, and space.
I also felt proud of myself—just in terms of how far I’ve come. It almost felt surreal, like something I could look back on years from now and really understand what this time meant. The way time moves forward, but you can still return to a moment and feel the love in it.
