The big picture: Homeless

Like strokes of a painter’s brush, every pore, wrinkle, scar and hair is accentuated in the faces of these homeless people. Some have kind, crinkly eyes, others seem wary, but most, with their weathered skin and intense gazes, tell of the hardship of life on the streets perhaps better than the subjects could themselves. → Photograph: Lee Jefferies

Lee Jeffries’s portraits may be uncompromising, but they are also beautiful. A woman with exquisite cheekbones; an elderly man who resembles a medieval sage. Tightly composed, with a short depth of field, they are intensely intimate. No detail is spared: runny noses, skin blotches and scraggy beards are the focus as the background melts away. → Photograph: Lee Jefferies

The images are highly stylised, and artistically enhanced afterwards. Jeffries lightens faces and deepens the shadows created by folds of skin. It seems as if they were shot in a studio, when in reality Jeffries had just a few moments to capture them in natural light, out on the street, before they got bored or changed their minds. A small reflector, held beneath their chins, is the only accessory he uses. → Photograph: Lee Jefferies

Jeffries, an amateur photographer and accountant by profession, began photographing homeless people in 2008. Visiting London from his home in Bolton, he spotted a young girl living rough on Leicester Square. He tried to steal a shot from a distance, but she spotted him, so he went over and struck up a conversation. Since then, he’s photographed people in downtown Los Angeles, New York, Rome and Manchester. → Photograph: Lee Jefferies

He chooses his subjects carefully, usually looking for something behind the eyes that conveys a person’s character or that shows their emotions. He insists he’s not making any sort of statement. And he always gives them money as a thank you. Photograph: Lee Jefferies

Photograph: Lee Jefferies

Photograph: Lee Jefferies