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Alan Clarke - part 1 of 1 2 3

Published 01/04/2014

Never afraid to aim high in either his personal or professional life, the last few years have been a busy time for Alan. In 2009 he launched himself full time into his own social photography business and it really was sink or swim as he initially took on a studio premises of his own. A transitional period at work had given Alan the opportunity to re-evaluate what he wanted to do with his career and photography was the choice that came out on top by far.

"I enjoy interacting with people,"

Alan tells me. "I like having families come round, I like getting them to smile and I like working with kids and so this kind of photography has just come naturally to me." The vast majority of Alan's work now is with newborns and younger children in his studio and he finds that this work with families often leads them to book weddings with him as well. "Your business needs balance and if all you ever do is newborns then you're missing out on a relationship going forward. That relationship can mean being the family photographer for years and even photographing their wedding since over half of new parents are now unmarried." Alan finds that his newborn photography clients really drive the rest of his business and they bring him more work from both further sittings and referrals.

But it's not just all work and no play; this year Alan trekked to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in order to fundraise for St Oswald's Hospice in Newcastle. After the pennies had been counted he managed to raise almost £5,000 and the total for his group came in at over £130,000 for the charity. "It was the hardest, toughest, most emotional trip you can ever take in your entire life. And it's brilliant." I asked Alan about the photo opportunities on the trip "You walk through so many different landscapes. You start off in rainforest, then you walk through this weird unearthly heather, and then rocks and boulders. Then you get to the top and there is just absolutely nothing. I took the most incredible stitched panorama up there that I'm just so proud of."

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1st Published 01/04/2014
last update 09/12/2022 14:52:29

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