It all started when I was working as an actor, shooting fellow performers in costume. Had I been offered major roles, I would not have had time to photograph my colleagues. This was a clue…

As well as portfolio shots, I started doing location stills. These are shots used by production planners to estimate the suitability of locations, and help to decided some of the technical requirements. So the shots have to be accurate – journalistic, even…

Submitting shots to the press was a logical progression. I began to see my work on the news stands. Sometimes I even got paid. One day I was invited to apply for a staff photographer post with a publisher of local newspapers and national magazines. They took a chance…

A press photographer is required to provide portrait, landscape, sport, advertising, daytime, night time, indoor and outdoor work. Often all on the same day. All of the highest quality, all on deadline. No time for complicated lighting rigs, no chance of a re-shoot if you get it wrong, no excuses if the light is poor or the weather atrocious.

Now freelance, I still do press work for a number of local papers here in Somerset as well as travel photography, Art cards for a French hotel, wall posters for a Greek Island restaurant, action shots for a Canadian rodeo… Contact me, and tell me what you’re after; new projects are welcome.

And, because my time is now my own, I also have time for teaching photography and Photoshop; something I enjoy as much, if not more, than taking photos. I design and teach practical digital photography and Photoshop courses for Strode College in the Somerset town of Street. I am a tutor with the Institute of Professional Photographers (a course which is accredited by NCFE at Level 4).

Hello, and welcome to jonryanphotography.co.uk!