Sam Bell’s interest in photography began in her early teens as she explored with a point-and-shoot 35mm camera, later working her first job in a local portrait studio and film lab. She went on to found and operate a wedding photography company before taking on commissioned projects across Latin America, the United States, East and South Africa, and Canada. She now works independently on long term, research driven documentary projects. Her current work is undertaken alongside a practice based PhD in Art History at SOAS University of London that examines how documentary photography operates within ongoing conditions of violence.