From 1969 to 1972, Lee attended Ryerson Polytechnic Institute in Toronto, Canada to study photography. During his freshman year, he won the grand prize for the Ryerson Photographic Award amongst all the students in the school. After studying psychology at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, in 1977, he started the Benjamin Lee Studio in Soho, London, United Kingdom. While working with global advertising agencies, he began taking portraits of renowned individuals, including hat designer Stephen Jones, lead developer of the hydrogen bomb Edward Teller, violinist Yehudi Menuhin, Sir Henry Moore, Sir John Hegerdy, fashion designer Bruce Oldfield, Sir Charles Saatchi, and fashion designer Manolo Blahnik. In 1987, he moved to Japan and was introduced by the president of the Royal Academy, Sir Hugh Casson, to Shikanai Nobutaka, CEO of Fuji Sankei Group and founder of the Hakone Open Air Museum, and photographed him. He was also commissioned by British Vogue to photograph fashion designer Rei Kawakubo, designer Issei Miyake, architect Arata Isozaki, designer Eiko Ishioka, and architect Ando Tadao. In 1989, he photographed sculptor Churyo Sato. In 1996, he exhibited “The World of Churyo Sato” at Fujita Vente in Tokyo. Lee then published his own photo series: “Odyssey.” In 2012, Yayoi Kusama appointed him as her main photographer for magazines features. Lee received the British Design Art Direction Award twice, and also the grand prize in the Ilford Portrait Photo Contest.
