Who I am
I'm Ehimetalor Unuabona, though most people call me Metty. My work spans protest lines and political movements, the charged energy of live music, cultural events, brand campaigns, and editorial portraits, the thread running through all of it is the same: people, as they are, in the moment they're actually in.
Shooting across London and beyond, my clients range from Jubel, Block 9, and Notting Hill Carnival to music artists like Issey Cross, Tommy & Piri, and ELIZA. Work that doesn't just document but pulls you into the room, onto the street, into the moment itself.
Clients & collaborators
What is BE ICONIC
BE ICONIC exists because of where I come from as much as where I'm going. My other background is graphic design, a world where nobody asks your permission to make something, only whether you have the skill and the tools to do it. Modelling doesn't always offer that same open door.
Too often it's guarded by people who ask newcomers to pay just to prove themselves, or by agencies and photographers who take advantage of young, unknowing models for a quick payday. I've seen it happen enough times to know it's wrong, and I wanted to build something in direct opposition to it.
This is that: a space where nobody pays to be seen, and the only thing asked back is real effort. I want to be a reason people can trust photographers, and a reason someone keeps going after a modelling career because one person did right by them, honestly, early on.
The name is meant literally. The full phrase is "You were meant to BE ICONIC" - a chance for anyone willing, interested, and ready to take the leap to see exactly how iconic they can look, so the real agencies out there can see it too, with the right photographer behind the camera.
Sessions are open to newcomers building a first portfolio, New Faces expanding one, and working models after fresh work - 18 and over, or 16 and 17 year olds with someone 21 or over there for the whole session.
Get in touch
London documentary & portrait photographer, available for commercial campaigns, editorial, live music, and events across London and the UK.
A few questions
What's Metty Unuabona's visual style for portraits?
Raw, alive, and present, documenting people as they genuinely are rather than a performed version of themselves. That means real reactions over held poses, natural light and location texture over an overly polished studio look, and a session that feels more like a collaboration than a set of instructions being followed.
Does Metty shoot commercial campaign work?
Yes, alongside portrait and editorial work, commercial campaign photography is a genuine part of the practice, with clients including Deliveroo, Balmain Paris, Burger King, Starbucks, and JW Anderson among others. That commercial experience directly shapes the portrait sessions too, an eye for what actually reads well to a brand or an agency, not just what looks nice.
Does Metty do photojournalism work?
Yes, photojournalism and documentary coverage, protest lines, political movements, cultural events like Notting Hill Carnival, sit alongside the portrait and commercial work. It's a genuinely different discipline, reacting to a real moment rather than directing one, and it's part of what shapes an instinct for authentic expression in the portrait sessions too.
Does Metty photograph music artists and live events?
Yes, live music and artist photography is a core part of the work, with clients including Issey Cross, Tommy & Piri, and ELIZA. Shooting live, unrepeatable moments under real stage conditions builds the same instinct for genuine, in-the-moment expression that carries through to portrait sessions.
What is Metty looking for in a model's submission?
Genuine effort and real information, honestly, more than a specific look or experience level. A clear sense of who's actually applying, real Instagram or portfolio links, specific outfit ideas rather than a placeholder, tells far more than any single photo could. What matters is confidence that the session is a genuine commitment, not who's already the most experienced.
Why do TFP or test shoots matter for a modelling agency?
A test shoot is often the first real, professionally-directed material an agency sees for a newer face, before there's a rate card or a booking history to go on. Done properly, it shows range, how someone actually performs in front of a camera, not just how they look in a single photo, which is exactly the gap between a phone photo submission and something an agency can genuinely work with.
How long has Metty been working as a photographer?
Photography sits alongside 17 years of brand design and illustration experience, a background that shapes a genuinely commercial eye for what actually works for a brand or an agency, not just an aesthetic one.
Where is Metty based, and does he travel for work?
Based in London, working across the city and the wider UK for commercial, editorial, live music, and event photography. The BE ICONIC portrait sessions themselves run at outdoor London locations and one studio space, both listed on the locations page.
Why did Metty start BE ICONIC?
Out of a graphic design background where nobody asks permission to make something, only whether the work holds up, and a frustration at how often modelling doesn't offer that same open door, newcomers asked to pay just to prove themselves, or taken advantage of by people who should know better. BE ICONIC exists as the opposite of that, a space where nobody pays to be seen and the only thing asked back is real effort.
Questions first? Reach out at contact@mettyunuabona.com