Celebrating my 15th business birthday as a professional photographer!

By Neil Moore of Moore Photographics based in Wiltshire.

Did you know that at MoorePhotographics.com I’m celebrating 15 years in business, and that has to be worth a ‘happy dance’!

I enjoyed photography as a child, even though it was during the time when you had to develop your film, and you simply weren’t sure what images you’d captured until the film was printed.

Growing up, I. actually wanted to be a physicist, but then went on to become a successful website builder, setting up my own business, Gopher Systems Ltd, which employed eight people at one point. 

It became evident to me that far too often; website clients didn’t have decent professional images to populate their sites.  It was a constant frustration for us as designers and I know it still is today. 

To this end, I began photographing images for my clients’ websites myself to overcome this hurdle and move projects along in a timely manner.

 The first digital camera I owned had only 1.3 megapixels, which is tiny compared to the size of digital cameras today – my latest cameras have 50 megapixels.  

In simple terms, megapixels affect how large you can print an image – higher number of megapixels means images can be printed far larger. It’s why you’ll often see the media asking for a certain ‘size’ of image, the better the quality the more choice they have of how ‘big’ they will use it. 

In 2007, I set up my photography business which has developed and grown over the years. Now, my business encompasses all areas of commercial photographic commissions.  Some of my photos can also be bought via my online shop. Do feel free to drop by and have a browse.

I began by taking images of cars, managing to make them look good to advertise them for sale - in pre Autotrader times. This has led onto working with dealerships and other car manufacturers regularly since (and I happen to really love cars).

My next move was into landscape garden photography, when I was commissioned to photograph several gardens for a large landscape gardening company. They wanted a range of images from several gardens they designed and created to use on their website and in their printed brochures.  Somehow, this led to me photographing a fashion shoot for Cotswold Country Living as well. 

As the business grew, so did the variety of commercial commissions and now I photograph many diverse products, in different situations and locations which all throw up different challenges.  I also have a studio so products can be brought into my premises so that I can photograph them in detail in a very controlled environment. 

The photographic disciplines I cover in my business, is wide ranging including: architectural photography; automotive photography; aviation photography; commercial photography; corporate photography; farming and agricultural photography; fashion and accessories photography; garden and landscape photography; interiors photography; marine photography; product photography/ pack shots and travel photography.

In 2017 I was awarded my Licentiateship with the British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP). To reach this level, I had to submit a range of images showing the quality and range of my commercial photography. Now, I’m working towards gaining my Associateship.

Even though photography is my business, it is also my favourite hobby too. For my own enjoyment, I love capturing seascapes, landscapes and night photography, and particularly when it means travelling alone around the countryside and coastal areas to capture the shots I want.

As a photographer you have to be able to think on the hoof, and therefore being prepared is vital. I always have a sleeping bag, kettle, and lifejacket alongside my camera equipment in the boot of my car – at the ready.

What I’ve loved over the past 15 years and still love about photography, is the huge diversity of clients I work with, which leads to interesting situations and engaging shots.

My photography services are available throughout the UK and overseas. My studio is based near Marlborough in Wiltshire. 

For more information visit https://www.moore-photographics.com