[2][3] He began his career working for style, music and culture magazines The Face and Sleazenation and has since joined groups of young people and musicians to make personal projects, as well as making films for Massive Attack, The Streets and the Charlatans and undertaking commercial work.

Spencer studied editorial photography under photographers Paul Reas and Mark Power at the School of Art and Design at the University of Brighton.

In 1999 he worked photographing nightlife, such as the UK garage scene, for fashion and lifestyle magazine Sleazenation.

[14] In his introduction to Open Mic, Martin Parr wrote: Ewen Spencer has already established his reputation, in recent years, as a photographer of much talent with his work on youth culture, but now he turns his attention to the 'grime' music scene in London...

He has thrown himself into this whole scene with such enthusiasm and dedication that he has won over the confidence of the key players on the grime circuit.

[2]Writing for the Huffington Post in 2012, Alice Vincent said "it is his photography from the front line of genuine youth culture that are the most striking.

"[3] In a 2012 interview for The Guardian, Spencer named Dick Hebdige, Tom Wood, and Pete Townshend as influences.

[citation needed] His photography has appeared in The Guardian[16][9] and he has worked for the NME,[6][9] The Face, Nike, Apple, Smirnoff, Footlocker, JD Sports, Sony, Reebok, T-Mobile, Toyota, Vodafone[13] and Channel 4 (photographing on the set of E4's series Skins).