Two heads are better than one at least in the eyes of fashion duo Ollie and Capaldi, who are building a reputation on the back of their joint quest for perfection.

It’s getting late on a Friday afternoon in London, and amongst all the customary hubbub of a busy city going about its business I’m looking out for the two photographers who make up the Ollie and Capaldi team. Agreeing to meet up in a Starbucks sets me the extra challenge of trying to second guess which of the many customers milling around in here I’m supposed to be interviewing: in the event the pair find me first, given away by a battered notebook and a slightly lost expression.

I could maybe have been forgiven for not immediately picking out Ollie Porter and Mario Capaldi because they were not quite what I had expected: Ollie is just a few years out of college and looks like he’s just stepped out of a band, while Mario, more casually dressed, is the older of the two and has the air of a man who has been established in the photo business for a number of years and knows his way around. As a partnership they are obviously bringing different strengths to the party, but they must be doing something right because they have already got themselves noticed by a string of influential clients since getting together just one year ago, while their joint portfolio is home to a healthy, and growing, collection of sleek and sophisticated fashion work.

Armed with the largest Cappuccinos that Starbucks can muster, we get down to some serious talking, and the first thing I want to know is why the idea of a partnership had appeal in the first place. As Mario and Ollie take turns to answer and unerringly end up completing each other’s sentences, it becomes clear that there is a definite bond and sense of shared purpose here.

“I left Uni three years ago and teamed up with another photographer when I left college,” says Ollie. “We were very much at the start of our careers and ultimately it didn’t work out because eventually we wanted different things. He was looking to assist while I was more interested in setting up my own business, but I had enjoyed the idea of working with someone else and was more than happy to look at that possibility again.”

Mario moved to London from Brighton when he completed his own studies and after a period spent assisting he worked in the industry both as a photographer and on the pro lab side of the business, ultimately becoming Creative Director of Metro Imaging. “In that role I did encounter some great photographers, the likes of Vincent Peters and Nick Knight,” he says, “but I also came across the fashion duo of Mert and Marcus when they were just starting out, and I liked the idea of working with someone else who was a kindred soul. There is a big difference between what Ollie and I are doing and the partnership that a gay couple such as Mert and Marcus have, but in what is a traditionally insular business what we appreciate is the opportunity to have someone else to bounce ideas off.”

Introduced to each other by a mutual designer friend, the pair hit it off immediately and decided quickly to pool their resources and to set up a business together. There is a huge degree of trust between the two: the partnership is based on an agreement not a formal contract and everything that is earned is divided straight down the middle. “I think if we were to put something in writing it would be like one of those marriages where everything has to be preceded by a pre-nuptial agreement,” says Mario. “Ollie and I are similar in that we are very honest people and we chose not to work like that.”

There is similar harmony when it comes to the working relationship. Ollie used some personal savings to invest in a Hasselblad H2 camera and a Phase One P30 back: “The kind of work we’re doing demands the level of perfection that this kind of kit can provide,” he says, “and it would cost us something like £600 a day to hire and so it just made sense to buy what was needed.” Mario brought all his computer kit and software to the business and between them the two photographers have pretty much everything they need. A studio is hired when required to save the cost of owning or renting in the London area and similarly most of the lights are brought in on an individual shoot basis, the kit being chosen to order to satisfy the requirements for a particular picture.

There is similar precision in terms of how the shot is set up, and the duo make a point of never going into the studio without having a plan fully formulated beforehand. “We work on our ideas together,” says Mario, “and because I’m a decent artist I will actually sit down and sketch out exactly what we are looking to achieve. It doesn’t mean that things won’t change a little as we go through the shoot but at least we have our starting point mapped out and we don’t find ourselves turning up without a strong idea of where we want to go.”

Inspiration for images comes from a variety of sources: comics, Manga cartoons and films, but rarely the work of other photographers. “Mario makes a point of never looking at the work of other contemporary fashion photographers because he’s determined that the work we do will be different,” says Ollie. “I don’t mind looking back in time,” Mario explains. “I love the work of photographers such as Bill Brandt, Cartier-Bresson, Horst P Horst and Man Ray, but I try not to be influenced too much by what’s going on today.” With a fixed idea in mind about what they are looking to come away with, Ollie and Mario are acutely aware of the importance of involving the right team for the shoot. “The model you work with will make all the difference,” says Ollie. “The very best of them are almost like a blank canvas: a make up artist will be able to give them virtually any look you want.” “The team is everything,” says Mario. “Everything from the model through to the assistants we might be using.” “The stylist is one of the most important people of all on a fashion shoot,” Ollie rejoins. “They will be extremely clued up about what the current trends are, and many of them will have great contacts with the magazines that we are looking to feature in.”

The pair baulk at the fact that there is a natural assumption that all fashion work is heavily Photoshopped. “It is always disappointing when someone thinks this,” says Mario. “There has always been an element of retouching in photography – and this goes back way before digital processes came in - and obviously there is a degree of this in our work as well, but we don’t go in for full scale manipulation. Instead we’re prepared to put the work in to get as much right in-cameras as is humanly possible.”

With a year of partnership behind them, Ollie and Capaldi have already made serious headway, have put together a strong portfolio of work and have worked with some high end clients and top model agencies such as Storm. What lies ahead is more test shoots, the legwork of knocking on doors to introduce the work to new clients and, ultimately, the need to source a top agent. “You might as well forget about getting a top agent when you’re just starting out,” says Ollie. “They will be looking for a safe bet, and you can’t be that when you’re just one year into what you’re doing. But we’ll get there and the aim is to test as much as possible, to land some high profile work in both the fashion and advertising businesses and ultimately to get our work into some of the world’s top fashion magazines.” Looking at the portfolio as it stands already it’s clear the duo is well on its way to climbing this particular greasy pole, and there will surely be much more to come in the future.