Photography is a beautiful art, which allows us to capture and preserve sights that may be fleeting, but are nonetheless stunning. It is unique in that it allows the instantaneous capture of a view. All you need is a camera (or indeed a phone!!!). It is a hobby that is open to anyone, and we can all take nice pictures. The secret to taking stunning pictures is what attracted me to the field, and I continue to strive for perfection every time I press the shutter release.
I have been shooting professionally since I was 18 years old. I started by working at sports events, including rugby and athletics. After many years I realised that standing at the side of a field in Scottish weather was not a great pastime for a middle-aged man, and so I started to look around for other ways to indulge my passion for creating striking images.
I have been studio-based for many years now, and have been fortunate to create images of beautiful ladies and gents (and some children) that have pleased them, me and sometimes others. Some of my images have won awards from various photography websites and agencies. This is largely down to the efforts of my support team and the people who have agreed to model for me. I often work with professional models, but most enjoy working with amateurs who are either trying to break into the industry or who just want to be spoiled and pampered for a day and have great photos to help them to remember their experience.
As I began to be recognised in the fashion and beauty scene, I started receiving opportunities to shoot abroad. It seemed a waste to travel to such beautiful countries without photographing their sights, and so I began to dabble in cityscape work. It is an interesting sideline, but my main loves remain studio and landscapes.
For landscape work, I am fortunate to live in perhaps the most beautiful country on Earth – Scotland. Although cursed with unpredictable weather, it boasts some of the most amazing landscape opportunities. I am a regular visitor to the western isles, and Skye in particular. It is simply not possible to take a bad picture in Skye. The combination of clear light, shoreline, rock formations, waterfalls and mountains makes it the Mecca for any photographer.
As I exhibited my work, many people asked me how I achieved the results that you see on these pages. How do I get even light in the studio? How do I get the connection with my subjects that makes them look so comfortable and alluring? How do I choose locations? How do I edit to achieve such results? After being bombarded with these questions, I decided that I should offer tuition for young models and prospective photographers. This tuition can be in the studio or on location. I can also share my expertise on the use of editing software like Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Photoshop and other similar systems.