I remember my very first
celebrity photograph. I was a
really keen athlete as a young man and I even qualified for Scotland's national shot putt
finals at Edinburgh Meadowbank Stadium. I was just a teenager when
I then saw Scottish Olympic sprinter Alan Wells, and being unsure of myself I tried to
casually get a shot before eventually asking him if I could take a photograph. He was quite curt and it taught
me a lesson about how to get the best pictures when working with minor and
major celebrities, VIPs and royalty. I’m not star stuck at all now – I wouldn’t
get the pictures if I was.
One of my first big assignments as professional press photographer in Scotland was covering the visit of John
Major for Dumfries and Galloway Council. It was my first experience of being
part of a newspaper press pack, and having to be courteous but still get the right shots
for the picture desks.
In my days on newspapers and
then after I set up as a freelance editorial photographer in the North East I must have
photographed thousands of politicians, celebrities and members of the royal
family. Like every other north east commercial photography assignment, the trick is to work
fast and spot the shot before it happens.
People in the sports world
are usually preoccupied with doing their job when you point a camera at them, and
it’s important to be there for the action shot. One shot I
took out of a car alongside Dame Tanni Grey Thompson was a fast decision that worked well, and one that help me win a photography award.
few. For instance I was
the only North East photographer to be chosen by global news agency Reuters to
shoot American artist Spencer Tunick’s famous Naked City art installation,
which saw 1700 people pose naked in Gateshead’s Baltic Square, and my pictures
were picked up by international media within moments of the shoot.
Photographing actor of MartinClunes portraits was another great job. As
part of the BBC Islands of Britain series he visited Piel Island near Morecambe
to see the ceremony where the King of Piel Island gets crowned by beer poured over his head. I
was offcourse happy when my photos of Martin made The Times and other national
newspapers - job done!
My assignment in Kosovo in
the 1990s was slightly less glamorous. I went out with the British Army,
shadowing Brigadier Richard Dannett as part of a commission to cover the Green
Howard regiment, based at Catterick. The sleeping accommodation was fairly
basic and we flew in helicopters, went out on night manoeuvres and generally,
wherever the Green Howards were going, I went too.
In general, less well known celebrities
can be the most awkward to photograph, while top stars and royalty are easy to
work with. People like the Queen and the Prince of Wales, who are used to
having their photograph taken, understand what makes a good shot, and are
generally fuss-free and very obliging.
I remember how relaxed the Countess of Wessex was when she opened a shop in Northallerton, and a commission to document the Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to Teesside, to lend her support to a literacy campaign was an equally smooth day.
I remember how relaxed the Countess of Wessex was when she opened a shop in Northallerton, and a commission to document the Duchess of Cornwall’s visit to Teesside, to lend her support to a literacy campaign was an equally smooth day.
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