“I was always fascinated by the taboo of speaking to strangers on the street, finding out who that person is,” says photographer Christopher Ward.
Ward is the creator behind Model Strangers, a viral account boasting more than a million followers on Instagram and with hundreds of thousands more on YouTube and TikTok. Primarily a wedding videographer, Ward was born in South Africa and moved to Ireland in 1995 and now lives near Belfast.
Model Strangers is one of a growing number of social media channels featuring street interviews which have gained huge traction in the post-pandemic era, and Ward has the knack for getting people to talk.
Inspired by a love of documentaries, Ward started his project in summer 2023. He cites the work of director Nick Broomfield (Biggie and Tupac; Battle for Haditha; The Selling of a Serial Killer), who “puts himself in his films, so he’s part of the story”, for setting the gears of his imagination in motion.
“Whenever he [Broomfield] sets up an interview, he is already recording ... when he meets the person at their house or on the street or something it’s kind of spontaneous and that really appealed to me.”
[ Nick Broomfield: ‘It’s a choice, whether you get on with your parents’Opens in new window ]
Striving for authenticity was also a factor in Ward’s thinking: “Netflix documentaries can be a little bit over produced. I like to see real life, real people being interviewed.”
He says the idea for Model Strangers came to him during a period when he “was feeling a little bit down in the dumps, a little bit lonely”. Craving human connection and “looking for something that was going to really get the creative juices flowing again”, he set out on a mission to channel these feelings into a new project.
“I’m a creative person; I’m always wanting to create things. I love art. I never take a day off. But with weddings and that sort of thing I was becoming a little bit stifled creatively,” he reflects.
Although based in the North, and currently conducting most of his interviews in Belfast, Ward’s “Model Strangers journey” actually started in Dublin.
“I was a little bit hesitant about doing it so close to home,” he admits. “I thought if I just embarrassed myself in some way, I didn’t want to do it so close to home so I’d come down to Dublin where I’m more anonymous.”
In November he returned to the city where it all began for a collaboration to mark the start of RedClick’s sponsorship of Dublin Bikes, stopping people for a chat as they went about their commute in the capital.
Watching Ward’s video interviews, you would think that the calm yet confident manner with which he appears to almost instantly put any stranger he approaches at ease was something he was born with. But confidence is not something that comes naturally to the photographer.
“I really struggled with shyness when I was younger,” he says. “I am not the most confident and gregarious person. A lot of people think doing what I do requires a lot of confidence, and I suppose it does in a way, but it’s something I had to work through – that shyness, being a little bit timid.”
Ward’s success rate when it comes to meeting willing participants is impressively high: “Eight out of 10 people say yes to me ... most people are absolutely lovely,” he says.
I think a stranger will feel comfortable telling me things about themselves because I am a stranger, whereas they feel they might have judgment from a friend or family member
— Christopher Ward
Wielding his camera like a shield, he doesn’t allow rare unsuccessful encounters to phase him: “Whenever I have my camera in my hand, I feel like I’m working, like I’m a professional; I’m doing something important. If somebody’s rude or says no to me it’s okay, they’ve said no to the camera, not to me.”
So what is his secret? Kindness is key, he says, and offering a listening ear to people who might not otherwise have one.
“When I approach someone, obviously they’re going to be confused at the start about why I’m coming up to them, but I start off with a sincere compliment. And then their defences drop – you can see that sometimes in the video. Their faces light up.”
Putting this almost immediate transition within the first seconds of an interview to the fact that “a lot of us don’t often hear compliments about ourselves”, Ward’s conclusion is that amid all the superficiality of modern life and social media “people just want to be heard”.
“A lot of us don’t really take the time to really listen to people ... I’m a blank slate when I go up to somebody. And I think a stranger will feel comfortable telling me things about themselves because I am a stranger, whereas they feel they might have judgment from a friend or family member.”
How does he feel about the overwhelmingly positive responses he gets? Ward is “just so thankful that people trust me enough to open up and that they feel safe,” he says. “I think that has to do with the energy that I bring to an encounter.”
In his search for people to approach, Ward often finds himself drawn to things that make someone stand out from the crowd.
“Sometimes it’s colour, maybe they’re wearing something colourful. Or they’re trying to assert their independence in some way through their clothing or whatever.”
Beyond the surface level, he also gravitates towards someone when he sees “a lot of depth there, and intelligence”.
Offering good role models for people by way of featuring the wisdom of strangers online is a consideration too, “especially if they’re younger, because so many young people are on social media”.
“A lot of social media can be a bit silly at times, a bit superficial, so I like to feature people who have something to say and something to offer.”
Ward reflects that the surge in street interviews such as his that have been blowing up online, from political vox pops to couples sharing their wholesome meet-cutes, stems from an innate need to connect with our fellow humans. In the digital age, “seeing real, raw human interactions” offers a refreshing and welcome change in perspective.
“We all have our own individual backstory and histories but we’re so similar in many ways; we share the same fears and desires,” he says.
Part of the appeal of Model Strangers lies in the diversity of the people Ward speaks to.
“The older people are definitely more popular on my account; people seem to really enjoy hearing the wisdom of older people,” he says. “I think that demographic kind of feels invisible.”
A few common threads have stuck out for him, regret being one that hits close to home: “I didn’t necessarily follow my own path and I wish I had done sooner.”
Although he has now turned his passion for photography and videography into a career, Ward says he once felt pressure to conform to expectations and pursue a more traditional lifestyle. This led him to get a degree in computer science, against his better judgment.
“When I ask people about their regrets and things they would do differently and they say they would do their own thing and trust their own instincts – that speaks to me because I wish I had listened to my own instincts. I followed a path of studying a discipline at university that I wasn’t very interested in but I felt I had to,” he says. “I’ve always been trying to find a niche, but I was lost.”
The support of his family means a lot to him, clearly: “I was, for a long time, wanting to do something that would make a difference and make my parents proud. One day I was out with my mother and somebody approached me and knew who I was. It’s so nice; I’m happy my mother was there to witness that.”
Having captured strangers in Paris, Portstewart, London, Como, Belfast and Dublin – where is next on the map for Model Strangers?
“Maybe Donegal, maybe Cork,” says Ward. He is in high demand: “I get so many messages from people all over the world and also in Ireland, telling me to come here, come there.”
“I think I have done so much, inadvertently, for the tourism industry,” he laughs. “Often I’ll get comments, especially on YouTube, asking ‘Where is this?’”
The Strangers: Some of Christopher Ward’s highlights
Anne, Belfast
Ward met Anne outside Belfast City Hall in January 2024. Her interview has since gained more than 40 million views and she has been offered modelling contracts. Her candid words on impostor syndrome struck a chord with people.
“When I think of Model Strangers, I think of before Anne and after Anne,” Ward says fondly.
“People really responded to her. I knew she was going to do well because of the way she looked – she was of an older demographic and looked very elegant. She was very beautiful. But also she said things that really resonate with people about impostor syndrome. Having all that self-doubt. And that is a common theme with people that I have met. It’s a common thread of humanity.”
Ward adds: “We might look like we have it all together, and we’re sophisticated and we all have big jobs and we’re rushing around. But at our core, a lot of us are feeling very unsure of ourselves and Anne’s a classic example of this.
Anne’s words of wisdom for the world are to remember that “opportunities come to pass, not to pause”.
Terry, Dublin
Ward met Terry as he was on his way to work, via Dublin bike. Terry owns a Chinese restaurant in the city. Family and love were talking points of this encounter as Terry spoke about generational wisdom, passed from father to son, and meeting his wife in school.
“I just thought, he’s one of the people that’s keeping this city going ... an unsung hero. That’s the kind of person I like to feature – someone who doesn’t get their dues but is just quietly working away,” says Ward.
Terry, Belfast
“There’s some names that keep cropping up. Lola is another one. I think maybe the universe is trying to tell me something,” Ward muses.
Terry – Belfast Terry, that is – said the secret to happiness is “having an active mind”.
Like Ward, the 78 year-old said he was shy as a young man and that “conforming to expectations of society can be disappointing in the end”.
Michaela, Dublin
“Everyone that I stop teaches me something,” says Ward. With Michaela, who he stopped as she was cycling to work at the Lír Academy, this took the form of a Buddhist philosophy about transcending adversity: “No mud no lotus.”
Irene, Belfast
A retired languages teacher, Irene said that “love has taught me not to be too idealistic. I’ve learned to accept human nature with all its flaws and to be compassionate.”
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