Sure, anyone can point and shoot. But why’re you looking at my site? A pro photographer. You know the difference between shots taken and 'the' moment captured. A difference between an image and a scene that makes you stop and think "What the...?" You know you need different. Someone with commitment, dedication, insight, patience, the sense of humour to work all hours, lie in gutters, and get trampled on. More often than he'd like. If you didn't know, that's me!
There’s nothing still about great photography. My images have energy to every shot, because I bring energy to every shoot. To get that action shot, you have to get in on the action. Even if that does mean sparks will fly. It’s worth it to capture that precise moment of success. The victories. The triumph.
Or the moment of failure. The shock. The heartbreak. Sometimes the energy isn’t in the action. It’s in emotion. And to capture it, you’ve got to be right at the centre of the story.
Right at the centre of the story. Right in the middle of the action. Even if that means standing knee deep in water, sacrificing a tripod, to find the perfect shot. That’s what it takes to capture an image that leaps off the page and out of the screen.
You can’t get the best shots stood on the sidelines. You have to get in on the action, to get that feeling of action. Sometimes you just have to get wet.
And you have to commit. Commit to getting in and getting wet. And commit to being patient. To wait for as long as it takes until that light is perfect.
The best shots take absolute commitment. And a bit of risk too. But they’re worth it. If it means rushing into the middle of a busy road, stopping traffic and getting a fair few horn blasts to get the shot... So be it.
There’s no time for airs and graces. To get the shot, you have to be prepared to get kicked in the head. Sometimes you just have to lie on the floor, shout at folk to get out of the way and wait to get trampled on. But the results are always worth it.
Sometimes you just to have to commit entirely. Above and beyond. The brief was go scary for Halloween.
Turns out that a middle-of-the-night shoot in the middle of a deserted subway is so atmospheric, this shot was deemed a bit too powerful for the primary image. Oh well. I don’t do things by half.
I’ll even make sure your fashion shoot is infused with a creepy, eerie atmosphere (and be brave enough to shoot in the middle of a graveyard during the witching hour), if that’s what it takes to challenge your brief and push your brand forward.
Going above and beyond your brief means bringing my own ideas. My own improvements. It’s about doing the unexpected. Finding the unique in the everyday. Like a fashion shoot in the middle of skip yard. With a powerful model.
It means scouting different locations, in the most unusual of places. Finding the sets that work for the look you want. It means spending hours styling and lighting to create an atmosphere - and a feeling - that entices you in.
It means climbing onto the stage and directing your own haunting shot to truly capture the feel of a production for the promotional materials.
And sometimes it even means bringing your own props. When you have an idea for how the perfect image will look, you just have to go with it. Even it means getting a bit artsy with your cousin's favourite coasters.
The best photography makes you feel like you’re there and wish you were there at the same time. To get the shots, you have to be committed to travelling. To go wherever the camera takes you. You have to get in the centre of everything...
You have to get in the middle of action - wherever in the world that might be - to capture the true spirit of a location. You have to be there with your feet on the ground...
...Or get your camera up in the sky. To use the latest drone technology and high contrast imagery to create something more than a photograph...
To capture that moment. To sell that image. To promote your way of life and create a compelling pitch for your product.
Sometimes that pitch comes from showing a lifestyle lived, like this shot for a chain of new fitness clubs. It comes from taking the brief and making sure it works for your brand. From turning a static shoot into an active one.
Sometimes that pitch is simply about putting your product front and centre, showcasing it in all its glory
Sometimes the pitch comes from putting your products in a situation you’d never imagine. Getting creative shooting shoes, by putting them in a jacuzzi...
...or a fashion shoot for sportswear away from a gym, on a gritty industrial estate without a racket or running track in sight. Because it makes you stop and look twice.
Sometimes that pitch comes from your models. And the best shots come from reading their attitude, their personality... their look - and capturing it perfectly. Your models portray a lifestyle. I help them sell it.
And that usually means making models feel comfortable - without losing the dramatic feel of the moment. It’s about putting them at ease and working with them, to build that rapport and get that engagement with the camera. Because the most serious shots come from the most fun, friendly shoots.
All my shoots are fun and friendly. Because that’s how you get the natural reactions and effortless performances. It’s how I get great, action-packed shots from kids...
...from animals...
...from Neon Warriors...
...and even superheroes.
I even work with the weather. Though it doesn’t always work with me. Sometimes shots like these just require night after night after night of patience, until the clouds part and the stars align. Literally.
That patience is how I get committed, synchronised performance for group shots too. Working closely with everyone on set. Working together. That and plenty of teasing, poking fun and cajoling to get them into the positions that work...
...the stances that capture attitude...
...and the shots exploding with movement. Getting the shots that sell the abilities of their dance group...
...or the lifestyle their product brings. Because for the best group shots, your attention has to focus on the background too. To get those killer group shots, I always set the background first.
Sometimes the shot that works, takes work. Lots of it. Time. Planning. Effort and dedication. It doesn’t take just one perfect shot. It takes three. Each carefully composed. Adjusted, overlaid, using HDR technical trickery to get the crystal clear image.
That effort extends to event shoots too. It’s not just about the first-to-arrive-last-to-leave-on- site-editing-and-fast-delivery-of-images dedication. It’s the dedication to belly crawl across the stage, hiding in plain sight, to capture the moments that count...
...Or the dedication to squeeze down the side of the room, and nearly get squashed between chairs and the wall, to get the shot that’s different from those standard back-of-the-room, face-on ones.
And the thought to capture the dedication behind the scenes too. To shoot the whole event. The whole day. The whole night. The magic makers in the shadows who make it all happen, from set up to after party.
Of course at some events, there is one star. And dedication takes fighting off screaming fans, wading through mud, and getting the shot that’s so brimming with action and passion you can almost hear the music.
It takes shooting hundreds of images from every imaginable angle to capture that one moment where the lights, the music and the performance line up perfectly.
It takes getting up close and personal, feeling the hairs on your neck tingle you’re so close to the music...
...And it takes the insight to move back, to step away from the intimate moment and capture something altogether more powerful. Right Here, Right Now!
And when a band’s most intimate moments are not on the stage, but in the calm before the show, that dedication comes from lying face down in the street, in the gutter, to capture them.
When it comes to profile shots, the most important feature to capture is personality. And everyone is different. Whether that’s the album cover shot for a band’s latest release...
...headshots for acting troupes and actor agencies...
....sport photography for a product hero shot (with or without attitude!)...
...or corporate shots for business profiles. Except, you won’t find corporate stuffiness here. Bland and boring? Nope. Stuffy and forced? Nope. Just shots that put you at ease, make you comfortable and capture your personality. Because I’ve got an eye for something different.
It’s that eye for something different that gets shot like this. In Italy. When everyone else is trying to shoot the famous fountain in the middle of the piazza... I turn around.
Or shots like this in Sweden. When everyone else shoots the outside of the building or a happy smile at reception, I wait. I wait for the moment. Biding my time. For the shot that can’t be faked. I might not get it the first day. Or the second. But I’ll keep waiting until the moment is just right.
Waiting for moments like this. When the season is just right. When the timing is just right. When the opportunity is just right. It takes patience, dedication, an eye for something different.
If you got this far, thank you for staying the distance! Hope you like what you've seen and if you would like to work together, or just say hello... Feel free to reach out! ...Nice One! Jay :)
I’m different. My Mum always said I was and not always in a good way.
But when it comes to being a Manchester photographer who’ll travel the world to capture those perfect moments, then different is good.
Different makes the difference.
It’s my expertise, my experience, my purpose.
Remember that time pre-digital?
Yeah I was taking photos then. No fancy computer software. No fully auto everything tech.
I know that to get the perfect shot, you don’t just have to adjust settings and bend the rules.
You sometimes have to break them.
It’s my commitment and dedication too. 4am shoots. Cross-country travel at short notice. Someone who’ll do whatever it takes to get that perfect shot? Yeah, that’s me.
And it’s my personality and perfectionism. The attitude behind the camera. The jokes, the laughter, the trust. Sometimes you just have to sit back and wait until everyone is ready.
And then I wait some more. I come back when the weather is better. When the timing is spot on. When the setting is just right.
Just to capture that one perfect shot.
Ready to work with a different photographer from Manchester (wherever you are in the world?)