Andrew Wilkinson LRPS
“A highly recommended and experienced professional photographer, well-known for his commercial, lifestyle and wedding photography. A dedicated professional and delight to work with he engages tirelessly with an interested passion and insightfulness to the job in hand, yet remains unobtrusive in the execution of his craft.”
I am a freelance professional photographer based in Cambridge (Cambridgeshire, UK), where I live with my wife, and three nearby daughters. I provide professional photography services – weddings, families, events, corporate and commercial, music and the ‘arts’ – taking me to London, locations across the UK, and abroad. My zeal and passion for photography, both professionally and in pursuit of personal projects, exposes me to a variety of subjects, from interesting and beautiful places, people and processes, to landscapes and cultures across parts of the world. Travel is an important and enjoyable part of my life journey (no pun intended); a necessary and enriching ‘spice’ ingredient for my life!
WE DON’T SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE. WE SEE THEM
AS WE ARE
Working on commissions where people are the subject, is the most privileged form of photography I know. Whether it be a headshot, wedding, travel project, personal branding, or such, the fundamental requirement to a successful outcome is based on the relationship that is built in a single moment, or over a period of time. Only then is it that camera becomes the portal through which that relationship, perspective and purpose are captured.
there’s always a backstory …
My first recollections of an interest in photography go back to when I was very young. I recall rummaging through a box of black and white photographs and negatives taken by my father, that I’d found in the attic of our house. With negatives held up to the light I desperately tried to imagine how they would look as a print. I would sit for hours dreamily lost in the ‘present’ of a past world. With the prints that I dug out of the box my fascination was also with the elements of the images – the shadows, the light, the ‘lead-in’ and compositional constructs that drew my eye into the image, with the drama, the simplicity, patterns, geometry, balance, the curiosity of where, when and who, all captured in a split second – each image telling its moment’s story for ever! And, of course, why they were taken.
Images may be accepted at face value and simply be pleasing to the eye without, necessarily, the need for further interpretation. In my opinion great photographs retain enigmatic and timeless qualities that continue to develop pleasure and interest, thereby continuing to increase their intrinsic, if not monetary, value. That said, empowerment to interpret an image remains with the viewer.
I am intrigued by the idea that ‘a photographic image is true and false in equal measure’ – taken from the introduction to The Genius of Photography, by Gerry Badger. Georges Braque put it most beautifully, if not a little soberingly, when he said “Truth exists, only falsehood needs to be invented.” Context and perspective play enormous roles in the extent of the ‘truth’ that is communicated through an image. As a photographer I will naturally try to convey the ‘truth’ of a situation, unless a pleasing picture is all that is required.
On a more philosophical note: “We don’t see things as they are. We see them as we are.” – Anaïs Nin.
Each day provides new and exciting opportunities to see things literally and metaphorically in another light, or from a different perspective. This can be as wonderful as it is frustrating. Wonderful, because of the magic and magnificence of nature, or simply through observances of our social and often distraught world. Even without a camera I become more informed. Frustrating, because I simply want to do justice to the emotion of what I see, experience and understand of my world through the medium and expression of my art – the whole process from observation and capture to the final image. In today’s world, where ‘everybody is a photographer’, advancements in technology can facilitate only part of this process. A good camera and the best equipment there is do not in themselves make a good photographer. Essentially a good photographer makes a good picture, and the best piece of equipment they have is their eye – that’s the nub of it. That said, a little phrase I use is: “It is the photographer who makes the picture, not the camera; equipment really doesn’t mater – until it does!”
my style…
In a word, VERSATILE! I’m not locked into a particular style – clients like what they see on my website and Instagram. Often the photoshoot context, or situation will suggest its own style, which makes the creative element more exciting! Unless I’m photographing products, interiors or architecture, or such like, my natural approach to capturing images tends towards a natural, flowing documentary, or photojournalistic style.
Thank you for taking time to read this, but please be my guest and spend a few moments looking through the rest of my website, where you’ll find more detailed information about the services that I offer. If you would like further information, or clarification on anything, please get in touch.
Andrew