More about Simon Booth
I’m based in Hastings, where I grew up, and I love it here. It’s where my love of Photography began. I bought myself my first camera when I was about nine or ten – I actually have photos that I took at my primary school, as I often took my cheap little camera to school with me!
As I hit my teens, I became more serious about Photography – I bought a better camera, and by this time I was taking a lot of photos, and considering going into it professionally.
But then I got the filmmaking bug, shooting things on Super 8 film, and when I was 20, I took a degree in Film, Video & Photography, at The University of Westminster, studying and making films, where I focussed on lighting, camera and directing. After graduating I pursued a freelance career in London, working on short films, low budget films, commercials, and I filmed and directed some music videos, and made a couple of short films that were shown at film festivals, and had a very varied, creative freelance career.
But no matter what I was doing, I was always taking photos. Lots of photos!
After having such a busy and hectic twenty years in London, I found myself craving a different kind of life, and I needed a change. And thats when I decided to leave London, return to Hastings, the place where I grew up, and turn my lifelong love of Photography into my business – covering Weddings and Portraits, as well as commercial work for businesses.
I photographed some weddings of friends and family, for free, to get experience, for a few months. I really enjoyed my experiences shooting those first few weddings, and honestly, I was kind of hooked!
"I would describe my style of photography as Reportage - natural, relaxed, candid shots."
But throughout my life, I’ve focussed on portraits, people shots. This is the area of photography I’ve always been most drawn to. It’s probably why I also love Wedding Photography so much – a big part of it is capturing great shots of the couple and their guests … so I bought some professional studio portrait lighting and backdrops, and set up a portrait studio in my house in Hastings.
"I wanted Portrait Photography to be a big part of my work"
I began taking Studio Portraits of friends, to learn about different lighting styles, and experiment with different lenses. Once I had a few good examples to show, I decided to start taking portrait shots professionally.
Since I launched this site in 2016, I haven’t looked back, and have always strived to get better and better. My style has evolved a bit since I started working professionally, but I’d describe it as mostly reportage and portraits. I keep things natural, timeless, with strong compositions, working with natural light, and emphasising the mood.
Hopefully my work speaks for itself, so if you want to find out more, check out these links for more info, or take a look at my Wedding Portfolio, Portrait Portfolio and Business Portfolio.
