I absolutely love the challenge and the pleasure of meeting new people and creating portraits with them - whether in the studio with controlled lighting or out and about in the land- or cityscape or a specific environment. Portrait and headshot sessions often take place on a weekday when I’m not photographing weddings, christenings or meeting families for photo sessions. It usually requires just a few hours of your time - to meet and take some time to shoot the pictures, view and make selections with me to hand to help in that process, after which I will process and sometimes retouch them to produce the final print and online versions in both colour and black and white.

I’ve photographed so many people from all walks of life over the years, and usually, I have never met them before when they come to me for their portraits, but the challenge is always the same. Firstly to understand what they want their portraits for and bring the right approach and tools to achieve that, secondly to create a relaxed atmosphere and environment so they can be themselves and even enjoy the process at our session and thirdly to put the time and skills into what I can do with the images afterwards in post-production to make them really sing. It is a bonus if the process boosts my subject’s self-esteem and self-perceptions and that often happens and is wonderful.

Ultimately I want to capture images that fulfil the brief for where they are destined and I want to produce portraits that are flattering, interesting, strong, soulful and say ‘you’.

Iain - who has a fascinating job as a forensic scientist - got in touch for some pictures, not for work purposes, but as a gift for his Mum who, due to the pandemic, hasn’t seen her son for over a year.

Here are some of my favourite images from my session with him last Saturday:

If you are looking for some headshots or portraits, for business use, as a gift for a loved one, or just to create a personal record of you, please get in touch. I’d love to hear from you. We can shoot pictures at any location of your choice or in the studio here in West London.