Meet the Image Makers

THE IMAGE MAKERS

Conversations about the people shaping visual culture.

Every image has a story. Some change how we see ourselves. Others change how the world sees us. Join supermodel Heather Stewart-Whyte, visual strategist Stephen Mayes and entrepreneur Christina Vaughan as they explore the people, ideas and decisions behind the images that shape our lives. From beauty and representation to fashion, photography and AI, The Image Makers brings different perspectives to the conversation, asking what images say about us, how they influence the way we see the world, and who gets to shape the picture.

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Meet the hosts

Christina Vaughan has spent more than 30 years working in the business of images, bringing together photographers, creative talent and customers around the world. Born in Sheffield, she has built international businesses through a period of extraordinary change in how images are made, shared and valued. In 1998, she founded Image Source, growing it into one of the world’s leading independent premium image libraries, with offices in London, New York, Los Angeles and Cologne and a distribution network spanning 80 countries. The company received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade. She is now Founder and CEO of Cultura Creative, a female-led Sheffield company creating ethically sourced, rights-cleared and representative visual content and datasets for global technology and creative companies. Her work reflects a longstanding interest in whose stories we see, who gets to tell them and how the people behind the images are recognised and rewarded. As creator and co-host of The Image Makers, Christina brings an entrepreneur’s perspective and a curiosity about the power of images to shape our lives. Alongside Heather Stewart-Whyte and Stephen Mayes, she explores beauty, identity, representation, ownership and the future of photography in the age of AI, with plenty of personal stories and spirited conversation along the way.

Christina Vaughan

Entrepreneur, Creator, & Co-host

Heather Stewart-Whyte is a celebrated British supermodel whose career has taken her into the heart of the international fashion industry. A prominent figure throughout the 1990s, she shared the runway with Christy Turlington, Yasmeen Ghauri, Claudia Schiffer and many of the defining supermodels of the era. Over the course of her career, Heather has appeared in campaigns for all the leading brands including Dior, Prada, Gucci, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, Hermès, Armani, Ralph Lauren, Lancôme and L’Oréal. When Tiffany & Co. chose to put a face to its brand for the first time, that face was Heather’s. She has walked for fashion houses including Chanel, Vivienne Westwood, Karl Lagerfeld and Valentino, and graced the covers of Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar and Marie Claire. Her work spans both editorial and commercial photography, with collaborations alongside Helmut Newton, Peter Lindbergh, Patrick Demarchelier and Fabrizio Ferri, as well as close creative relationships with Dominique Issermann and Jacques Olivar. As co-host of The Image Makers, Heather brings the perspective of someone who has helped create some of fashion’s most memorable images. Through personal stories and reflections on life in front of the camera, she explores beauty, identity and representation, offering an insider’s view of the people, relationships and creative decisions behind the finished photograph.

Heather Stewart-Whyte

Supermodel & Co-host

Stephen Mayes has spent his career working with leading photographers and artists across art, fashion, photojournalism and commercial photography. As a creative director and CEO, he has helped shape imaging businesses in America, Asia and Europe, combining a deep understanding of photography with a curiosity about where it is heading. As Creative Director of eyestorm.com, Stephen worked with artists including Damien Hirst, Ed Ruscha and Richard Misrach. At Art + Commerce, he directed the Image Archive, representing the work of Robert Mapplethorpe, Steven Meisel, David LaChapelle and other leading editorial and advertising photographers. A member of Getty Images’ founding management team, Stephen helped establish the company’s creative direction as Senior Vice President and Group Creative Director. His experience in photojournalism includes leading Network Photographers in London and serving as CEO of VII in New York. From 2004 to 2012, he also served as Secretary to the annual World Press Photo competition in Amsterdam. Often described as a futurist, Stephen has broadcast, taught and written extensively about the ethics and practice of photography. As co-host of The Image Makers, he brings an enquiring perspective on how images communicate, whose interests they serve and how technology is changing the way we see the world.