About me

Ken Topham Photographer – About me

Well here’s my bio…

Born in the walled city of Chester, my mum is from the west of Ireland and my dad from Cheshire (just about).  I grew up in a small village eight miles from Chester and was reared in the fields messing around on off-road motorbikes and tractors.  This is definitely where I get my love of the outdoors from.

I studied contemporary photography practice, achieved my degree and out into the big bad world of photography I went. Actually I had been working as a freelance assistant for a year already while studying – I had already been on a few jobs in Paris Milan and Barcelona with Manchester photographer, Jon Shard, who specialises in advertising shoots particularly for big sports brands and magazines.  Shooting football players for Reebok and 4-4-2, and rugby players for Canterbury was great fun.  This is where I learnt a lot about running a shoot, whether it be on location or in studio, and about the power of great lighting.

While working with Jon I was introduced to Scott Kershaw, who shot and still does some great social portrait jobs for councils and local authorities as well as some stunning fashion and music photography.  Assisting Scott meant thinking on your feet was essential and the jobs were fun and rewarding.  I still remember photographing the Philharmonic orchestra in Manchester on a metro station.

Next came Adam Murray-Brown, different again, Adam shot alot of product and room sets this was again a steep learning curve as nearly every job presented a different problem, from reflective surfaces and greasy finger prints to huge sets that filled the studio, and late nights getting the last shot.

There have been many other great photographers I have worked with too but the three guys above were who I learnt my craft with, thanks for the education Jon, Scott and Adam… not forgetting AJ Wilkinson, art photographer and my lecturer, who opened my eyes to photography.

A move to Ireland with my family meant setting up on my own and living out in the “sticks” meant getting out and about and doing what work was there.  This was where I really got into the wedding scene, shooting 4 -5 a month during the summers. Living in the lush emerald isle, and also not far from the beach led to plenty of lovely outdoor family shoots too.  I also noticed a gap in the market there for local businesses so worked with a number of business clients, some on retainer, others job by job to help them promote their business and build their brand with great images that spoke a thousand words.

Now I’m happy to be back home in the UK, and am lucky to live in a special bit of the world called Saddleworth, not far from Manchester.

Please ask – I’d love to work with you.

Ken Topham Photographer (and Eve) December 2014

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