Who is MrLeica? (aka. Matt Osborne)

Perhaps you’ve heard the name but who is MrLeica? What is his background? What cameras does Mr Leica use? What does MrLeicaCom photograph? This post will aim to give you all you need to know about the UK photographer Matt Osborne aka. MrLeicaCom.

Cameras: What cameras does MrLeica use?

As a photography blog, let’s first look at what you might be most interested in. Cameras! Despite the MrLeica name I don’t limit myself to only Leica cameras. I think it’s important to experiment to find out what works best for you. I’m probably close to 80-90% Leica in terms of the cameras I use the most but for the cameras I own Leica is perhaps 60%. I still enjoy some Nikon SLR cameras (coming from Nikon) and I really enjoy vintage rangefinder cameras, Soviet, Voigtlander or otherwise. Leica don’t make medium format film cameras so I use popular brands like Rolleiflex, Hasselblad, Mamiya and less common cameras too. For large format I have 3 types – press camera, monorail camera and a view camera. See a list of all cameras I use in my Camera Reviews Section.

Lenses: What lenses does MrLeica use?

This is probably the next big question so I will answer it. What lens(es) does MrLeica use? In short, I use a wide range of lenses but I will break it down! (*I didn’t make a chart for this as it will be difficult to get it accurate). Most of my lenses are manual focus lenses. I have a few modern autofocus (focus-by-wire) lenses but I don’t really value them. My preference is to buy lenses that work on both film and digital cameras. Some of my Nikon F lenses offer autofocus but I can use as manual focus too. Lens brands I use include Leica, Voigtlander, Nikkor (top 3) then Zeiss, Chinese modern M mount lenses, vintage Soviet lenses and various LTM screw mount lenses. You can see all then lenses I use in my Lens Reviews List.

Photography: What does MrLeica photograph?

If you’ve seen my photos you’ll probably know that most of my work is female portraits. More specifically, black and white model photography (with occasional colour shots). When I’m dead and gone I’d like to leave behind a record of some of the most beautiful girls in the world. My mission is to keep finding more and more attractive women to photograph. (I realise this is both shallow and subjective but I just photograph what I enjoy). Ideally I will capture my important MrLeica model photos on film but I use digital too.

When I’m not photographing models I don’t value digital images too much. For personal projects such as travel (often including landscapes, cityscapes and street photography) I shoot film only (unless testing lenses for YouTube). My Leica wedding photography is often a mix of both film and digital for clients. Occasionally I photograph men, usually for paid work and with a macro photography history sometimes I still enjoy close-up work.

Model photography is probably what I’m best at. I teach the model photography workshops and that’s why I released the free eBook (working on the full eBook!). I might release model photobooks in 2023 so if you are interested sign up to the blog so not to miss future updates.

Background: Who is MrLeica and why is he different?

Firstly, I’m just you’re average guy but my background gives me perhaps a unique set of skills that sets me apart from a normal photographer. I didn’t take the usual art college route but I think in hindsight this has benefited me. If you look at the diagram below you’ll see I’m a bit of a mixed bag (as they say). When I break it down it’s interesting to see how each has helped me become who I am today.

MrLeica background / skillset

• Science degree – I’m used to lots of data, a methodical approach and a inquisitive/ experimental mindset. Perfect when it comes to documenting cameras!
• Former ACCA certified accountant – It just normal for me to be honest and to act with integrity as that’s all I know
• Former Senior Auditor for Europe and India regions – I discovered the beauty of people in different countries and it opened my eyes to travel
• Corporate roles exposed me to communicating with successful people from different countries and this helps my interact with my 1:1 workshop clients
• Two times Ironman triathlete (plus half distance events), having a healthy lifestyle gives me a lot more energy and drive and I don’t mind hard work
• Self confessed trying-to-improve introvert, being a non-alpha male has been my biggest super power when photographing females (non-threatening)
• Former painter/ artist – Before photography, I used to paint from a very young age (taught by my late Grandfather and Dad), water colours and acrylics
• Creative dreamer – I live in the clouds much of the day (it’s a happy place!) and this positive mindset means I’m almost always smiling
• Entrepreneur mindset – Even as a kid I used to think of creative ways to try to make extra pocket money. This eventually lead me to quitting my job

How I became a full time photographer

I documented quitting my job and going full time with photography in the following two YouTube videos:

My How to Making Money with your Photography eBook details my approach and can hopefully help you do the same.

What the future will look like for MrLeica?

It’s difficult to say in the fast changing modern world. I’d like to think more teaching, more workshops, group workshops, continued teaching via Patreon, more beautiful models, photobooks, eBooks, visit new countries and trying to broaden and grow my YouTube channel too 100K subs (and beyond). I don’t mind playing the long game and my personality traits help. Sign up to the blog to follow along!