Interview: The street photographer on a mission to normalise giving compliments

Amelia Jones

A Cardiff-based street photographer has built an Instagram following of more than 31,000 by stopping strangers in the city centre and documenting their reactions on camera.

Tom Wilkins, 36, originally from Southampton, has lived across the UK before settling in Cardiff four or five years ago.

Last April, during a break from his criminology and psychology studies with the Open University, he picked up his wife’s old camera.

“I was completely bored,” he says. “I thought, let’s give it a go, and I really enjoyed it.”

Initially experimenting with portraits and model shoots, Wilkins found his true calling in street photography after a chance encounter on his walk back from Cardiff Bay.

He stopped a woman with a striking punk style and asked to photograph her. “It was such an amazing interaction…so positive. I thought, I need to do this again,” he says.

Wilkins’ style is high-contrast and grungy, but he adapts his approach to suit the personality of the subject. He said: “I think a good photograph doesn’t change the person themselves, it enhances them.” Some photos are airy and colourful, while others are darker and more alternative.

Beyond capturing striking images, Wilkins sees his work as a way to connect with people and tell their story. He describes himself as being on a ‘mission to normalise compliment giving,’ aiming to make people feel valued in everyday encounters.

He always starts the interactions off by saying he takes photos of ‘cool people’ who catch his eye. This simple phrase often makes people feel comfortable in front of the camera: “When I say that, there’s always a smile, they light up. I think that tells a story.”

To capture the full experience, Wilkins uses Meta glasses to record the interactions, which allow viewers to see his subjects looking directly at the camera.

“I think it makes the person watching feel like they’re part of what’s happening,” he explains, “and it’s a much more powerful way to tell the story.”

Some of his videos have exceeded 100,000 views, helping Wilkins gain recognition across the UK.

Watch here:

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The photographer  struggles to put his style into a single category. He said: “I’ve been asked whether I do portrait, street, or documentary photography, and I couldn’t give a definitive answer. It’s a bit of everything – I watch people, I stop people, I document life on the streets. I just don’t like putting myself in a box.”

A typical street session involves walking through central Cardiff once or twice a week, starting at the top of Queen Street and looping down Castle Lane, past the market, and along St Mary’s Street.

He chats with people, stops strangers whose style or presence catches his eye, and captures spontaneous moments. He rarely poses subjects or alters backgrounds, preferring to document authentic, everyday life.

His work:

See more of his work on his Instagram page here. 

For Wilkins, each street session is both a creative and personal journey. He sees his work as a way to document real, unfiltered moments and celebrate the diversity of the people he meets. He enjoys the unpredictability of the streets, where no two sessions are ever the same.

He laughs as he recalls some of his funniest interactions on the streets: “Some of the funniest ones probably can’t really be put in the newspaper.”

When asked what his images reveal about Cardiff, Wilkins smiles as he says: “I think cameras do talk. Not in the sense of hearing voices in your head, but they tell stories about the people and places they capture.”

“From what I’ve been told, I think people see Cardiff as a really happy, welcoming, and accepting place.”