I’m lucky enough to live in an area where manufacturing is big; it’s great, and I think it should be celebrated. All of this makes me want to do something different to the normal team photos or portraits of people that work in these industries and make them shine in their environment.

Now manufacturing environments are never ordinarily clean and tidy, and I LOVE that about them. I love how we craft and create things in this country and the skill that goes into that. By the way, I’m not talking about cups and sandwich wrappers in the workplace (I’ve never seen that anyway), but the oil, swarf, and all things engineering make up the look and feel and enable these skilled workers to craft the future.

So when commissioned to do an industrial portrait, I’ll visit the site and see what we have to work with, to understand what they are trying to achieve with their portraits, i.e. who is it aimed at, what message do they want to present, etc. From here, I will start to come up with ideas, how we can make them stand out, and what equipment is needed – from coloured lights in the background to scissor lifts to get an elevated position, and what editing will be required to create the final images.

Below are some of the images from a portrait shoot we did for Canterbury Tools for their new brochure (which we also designed) to make them stand out and show off their personalities and specialisms.

A man in a blue work uniform stands confidently with arms folded in front of a large industrial CNC machine labelled Mikron VCE 1600 Pro, captured in striking photography with various machine tools displayed on a nearby table.

A man in a navy polo shirt stands smiling with arms crossed before a large industrial Hurco VMX42SRTi machine. The dimly lit scene features blue highlights and showcases precise photography, with tools neatly arranged on a nearby workbench.

A young man wearing glasses and a dark jumper stands confidently in front of industrial machinery in a dimly lit workshop, captured through striking photography, with various metal tools arranged on a blue table beside him.

A man with a beard and tattoos stands smiling with arms crossed in a dimly lit industrial workshop, machinery and metal parts visible in the background, capturing the essence of industrial photography.

A bearded man in a dark jumper stands with arms crossed, smiling in front of industrial machinery labelled AGIE. Photography equipment captures the scene, while a computer workstation with keyboard and monitor appears on the left.

A man in a dark blue work uniform and black cap stands smiling in front of a large CNC machine in a workshop with blue lighting, captured in striking photography.

A woman with blonde hair and glasses, wearing a light green top, stands smiling in a warehouse with shelves of various items in the background, captured through vibrant photography and illuminated by focussed lighting.

A panoramic photography image of six people standing in a workshop or factory, surrounded by industrial machines and tools, with dramatic lighting highlighting each individual.