The car that started everything
Every serious automotive photographer has a car that defines them. Mine is a Toyota Celica, customised, distinctive and entirely personal. Starlight roof, custom underlighting, respray in a colour that turns heads in any car park.
It’s not a studio prop. It’s a daily reminder of why cars matter, not as appliances, but as expressions of who you are. That philosophy runs through my love of cars.
“Cars are my passion!”
My cherished Celica is my proof of passion.
I've always been a car person.
Not casually. Not because it sounded cool. From sixth form I was training as a mechanic, choosing tools over textbooks, because I knew the motor trade was where I wanted to be.
The visual instinct was there before the mechanical one. I studied art at school, colour, composition, light and how it shapes a subject. At the time I had no idea how relevant that would become. Looking back, it was laying exactly the right foundation for the photography I do now.
My apprenticeship at Bartlett Automotive in Huntingdon put me on the workshop floor with BMW, Mercedes-Benz and MINI – prestige vehicles from day one. Hands-on, technical, detailed work. I learnt how these cars are built, what makes them feel special and what matters to the people who own them.
“A skiing injury changed my path. It didn’t change the industry I wanted to be in.”
Moving into customer service at Bartlett was a pivot, not a retreat. I brought everything I’d learnt on the tools into the showroom and it made me a better advisor than most, because I actually understood the product I was talking about.
From Bartlett I went to Toyota in Peterborough, broadening my brand knowledge into Japanese performance and hybrid technology. Then Jaguar Land Rover came calling and I spent my time working daily with the full JLR model range, learning the brand from the inside.
Photography happened alongside all of this, naturally. When you care about cars the way I do, you want to capture them properly. The art background gave me an eye for light and composition before I ever picked up a camera seriously. The motor trade gave me an understanding of the subject that no photography course could teach. I shoot events, car meets, friends’ vehicles and my own build. I understand intuitively what makes a car photograph well, because I understand what makes a car worth photographing.
What makes me different
Most people in vehicle photography come from one direction – they love cameras and they learn about cars along the way. My journey ran the other way around entirely.
I started on the workshop floor. Then the showroom, spending time as a Customer Service Advisor across four different franchises, working my way up to Jaguar Land Rover. By the time I picked up a camera seriously, I already understood the vehicles I was photographing at a level most photographers never reach.
That combination – mechanical knowledge, brand fluency, commercial dealership experience and a genuine creative eye – is what makes my photography different. I do not just see a car. I understand it.
I know what matters to a buyer browsing online. I know what a prestige brand expects from its visual presentation. I know the difference between a car that is ready to shoot and one that needs another pass through prep. I know how to capture the details that tell the right story, because I have spent time learning exactly what those details are.
“The art background gave me an eye. The motor trade gave me a subject. Three years in the industry is what brought them together.”
3+ years motor trade experience
From the workshop at sixth form through various franchises to JLR. Hands-on mechanical work and customer-facing roles across the full prestige spectrum.
Deep JLR knowledge
I’ve worked inside the brand. I know the model range, the specification levels, the standards and the customer expectations - because they have been part of my daily working life.
I read a vehicle, not just photograph it
Mechanic training means I look at a car differently. I see the features worth highlighting, the condition details that matter, and what the vehicle is communicating before I even set up a shot.
Comfortable in every department
Workshop, service, sales, parts, customer service. I’ve been lucky enough to work alongside them. I understand how each department operates and how to move between them naturally.
Organised and self-directed
Prestige customer service teaches you to manage multiple priorities without being reminded. That discipline runs through everything I do, including how I plan, execute and deliver a shoot.
Passion that goes beyond the day job
I build and photograph my own car. I go to events and meets because I want to, not because I have to. That enthusiasm shows in the work.
A creative eye developed early
GCSE Art at school - colour, light and composition. That foundation existed before the motor trade and sits underneath everything I photograph today.
Based in South Lincolnshire
Spalding. Familiar with the local automotive scene and well placed across the East Midlands and East Anglia.
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Photoshoots
I Started On The Tools
Before customer service, before photography, I was a mechanic. That time on the workshop floor gave me something genuinely hard to replicate: I can look at any vehicle and immediately understand what I am looking at, what its standout features are and how to show them at their best. That instinct is not taught in photography school.
I know Jaguar Land Rover from the inside
Not as a visitor. Not as a customer. As a member of the team. I know how a JLR dealership operates – the daily rhythms, the stock processes, the brand standards, the relationship between departments. I will not need six months to find my feet.
The photography is already there
I studied art at school and learnt how colour theory, composition and how light behaves. I attend shows and events, photograph my own build and understand intuitively what makes a car photograph well. The eye and the passion already exist.
This is who I am, not just what I do
I go to car meets because I enjoy them. I modify and photograph my own Celica because I cannot help it. The automotive world is not a career path I chose out of convenience, it’s genuinely where my interests live. That comes across in the photography and in every conversation I have about cars.
A motor trade professional.
Motor Trade Core Skills
- Vehicle appraisal - trained eye for condition, specification and key features
- JLR standards - Approved Used process, preparation standards, display requirements
- Stock management awareness - understanding of used car pipeline from arrival to display
- Workshop liaison - knows how to work with service, parts and valeting teams
- Sales team collaboration - experienced in supporting sales with product knowledge
- Prestige brand standards - understands what 'good' looks like across multiple luxury franchises
Photography - Developing Skills
- Exterior hero shots - understanding of angle, light and composition for automotive
- Detail photography - capturing features, badges, wheels and interior highlights
- Golden hour shooting - knowledge of how light enhances vehicle presentation
- Car event photography - practical experience at shows and meets
- Digital organisation - methodical approach to file management and delivery
- Platform upload support - familiar with Autotrader and dealer website formats
Interpersonal & Organisational
- Cross-department communication - natural at liaising between sales, workshop, parts
- Time management - used to working to daily priorities and tight turnarounds
- Reporting to management - comfortable with daily GSM briefings and progress updates
- Self-motivation - customer service roles require personal accountability
- Attention to detail - prestige brand background instils high standards
JLR Specific Knowledge
- Model range - Defender, Discovery, Range Rover (all variants), F-Pace, XE, XF, F-Type, I-Pace
- Specification levels - S, SE, HSE, R-Dynamic, Autobiography, SVR - knows what to highlight
- Approved Used standards - preparation, checklist and display expectations
- Customer expectations - first-hand understanding of what JLR buyers look for
- Advertising platform familiarity - experienced with how JLR vehicles are presented online
Recent Projects
A short description that introduces visitors to your portfolio
I grew up wanting to fix cars.
Then I learnt how to work on them. Now I photograph them and I understand them from every angle that matters.
