About
I’m a full time professional photographer, working for a wide range of clients all over the UK, including newspapers and magazines, public relations agencies, corporate marketing departments and individuals.
I specialise in corporate, editorial and commercial style photography and travel all over the country photographing people, places and events.
There’s loads of information on this site about me and my work, so please take a look around, leave comments, search the online archive and, if you decide you need a great photographer, give me call on +44 (0) 7973 442527 or email me at pictures@simonridgway.com
FAQs
Q. How much will the photography cost?
A. That depends on the time the job takes, what the job entails and how you intend to use the pictures (see the next question).
I probably won’t be the cheapest photographer you can find, but if you’re shopping around purely for the lowest cost then you’re probably better off with another photographer.
Q. Will I own the pictures you take for me?
A. No. Copyright in the pictures belongs to the photographer under UK Copyright law. When you commission photography you pay for a “licence to use” the pictures. This licence will vary according to your needs. The price I quote will depend on the extent of the licence you require. For example, you will need to pay more for pictures used in a national advertising campaign than you will for your own company newsletter. I will supply a written “licence to use”, detailing what you can do with the pictures, along with your invoice once the job is complete.
Q. I know photographers who will put all the pictures on a CD and hand them over for an all-in fee. Do you do this?
A. Rarely. This practice – known as “dump and run” in the industry – is a bad idea for most clients. Images do not come out of the camera as perfect, reproduction quality photos. Just like photographic negatives needed processing in the days of film, digital files need processing to get the best quality. Do you really want a CD full of lots of images you don’t need, none of which have been processed ready for use? You just end up doing a lot of work yourself, and if you don’t have the necessary equipment and skills then you won’t do the job as well as a professional photographer. I charge a fee for processing digital files, just like I used to for supplying and processing film. This fee may be included in your quote for the job or it may be added on as an additional expense. Either way we will discuss this up front so you know what you will be paying.
Q. How do you deliver the pictures?
A. Finished files are normally supplied either on CD/DVD or by emailing you a link from which you can download a set of pictures direct from my server to your computer.
Q. Where are you based?
A. My office is right in the centre of Cardiff, a 5 minute taxi ride from the city centre. Swansea, Newport, and the South Wales valleys are all within an hour’s drive and I frequently work just across the Severn Bridge in Bristol, Gloucester, Bath and the surrounding areas.
Q. How far will you travel?
A. How far will you pay me to travel? I’ll go anywhere within reason, as long as your budget will pay for it!
Q. Do you specialise in a particular type of photography?
A. No, but as you can probably tell from my portfolio, the majority of my work is editorial and corporate work. This is what I enjoy most, but it doesn’t mean that I won’t do a good job if you ask me to do something else. Call me and we can discuss what you need. If I don’t think I can do a good job, I won’t take it on and I’ll try to put you in touch with another photographer.
Q. What equipment do you use?
A. Canon digital cameras and lenses, Elinchrom lighting, Apple computers and lots and lots of miscellaneous “stuff”. (Photographers are notorious for accumulating “stuff”, most of it expensive).
