I’ve been a commercial photographer in Glasgow for over 20 years. In that time I’ve seen quite a lot of changes not only in the photographic industry, but in Glasgow itself. Here are my reflections on the changes over the past 20 years.
Photographer: Richard Campbell
Photoshoot location: Glasgow
Photography Job type: Outdoor photography, location photography, commercial photographer Glasgow
About 8 years ago I was commissioned to photograph areas of Glasgow which were earmarked for redevelopment. I was then asked to photograph the same locations after the redevelopment was complete and as you can see from some of these photographs the change is quite dramatic.
Commercial Photographer Glasgow Examples:
Commercial Photography Glasgow example: Commissioned photograph of Glasgow site prior to redevelopment – ‘before’ shot
Commissioned commercial photography of Glasgow site post redevelopment – ‘after’ shot
Most of it took place in the east end of Glasgow with sites such as the Athletes’ Village for the Commonwealth Games being turned into social housing.
Commissioned site photograph of Athletes’ Village in the East End for the Commonwealth Games
These changes have also been reflected in the photographic industry itself. When I started out, commercial photographers Glasgow were all using film. To cater for this there were numerous labs all round the city providing film processing services. Within a mile of each other there were about 4 just catering for commercial, corporate and press and PR photographers. There was even a Rank movie film lab which processed movie film for the television news and drama shows.
20 years on, all those labs have shut, with the exception of one which moved into the production of exhibition stands and another Loxley Colour, which was a tiny basement operation at the time but is now one of the UK’s largest providers of wedding albums and digital printing. They shut down all their E6 and C41 processing some time ago and now only print from digital files.
Commissioned photograph of Glasgow Clyde Riverside path way prior to redevelopment – ‘before’ shot
Commissioned photograph of Glasgow Clyde Riverside path way after redevelopment – ‘after’ shot
In addition to photographic processing labs, many commercial photographer Glasgow studios and advertising agencies have closed or merged. There are only a handful of companies today that existed 20 years ago. Of course change is not new. The photographic industry is one that has always been continually evolving; from glass plates to roll film, black and white to colour, manual focus to autofocus, digital SLR’s that also shoot video, it never stops.
Of course with every change there also comes an opportunity. About 9 years ago I noticed there was a need for a co-ordinated network of commercial photographers covering the whole of the UK, not just my own area in Glasgow, as clients always seemed to have problems finding a good photographer they could trust. I then set about researching and approaching photographers who also specialised in advertising, architecture, commercial, corporate, editorial and press and PR work in other parts of the UK. After an initial meeting in 2008 the Commercial Photographers Network was born (CPN for short). Prior to the internet this would have been very hard to set up as it would have relied on browsing through directories like Yellow Pages which would have revealed very little about the quality of a photographer’s work.
Examples of Glasgow Architectural Photography: Squiggly Bridge Glasgow, and the Science Centre Glasgow
The existence of the internet also greatly helped clients too as it would have been difficult to promote a network like the Commercial Photographers Network without it. All clients have to do is visit the website to get a quick overview of what the CPN does, where its members are located and the quality of their work.
Change can be very unsettling in many ways but it also brings about opportunities if you are prepared to adapt and embrace them.
Are you looking for a commercial photographer Glasgow? Give Richard Campbell a call on: 0141 363 0013 or mobile 07721 325 326 or email him at [email protected]
Or if you’d like some more information about our unique UK-wide Commercial Photographers Network then contact us. Wherever you are, we have a photographer near you!
