the Photographer – Issue Two 2026

The Magazine of the BIPP / 2026 / Issue Two

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ISSUE T WO, 2026

President Column 2

FEP Awards 4

Retrospective 46

Jeff Brown shares insights on the summer seasons impact on the industry and what photographers can do to stay motivated and engaged

We take a look at the BIPP members whose images were recognised in the FEP Awards, with insights about the photographs behind their success.

We look back at the history of the photographic company Hardman Studio, whose home and workplace remain preserved as a museum.

Editor Column 3

Seeing Before Shooting 36

Beyond the Surface 56

Editor Joel Hansen looks back on the latest edition and reflects on some of the standout content from BIPP members and external contributors.

Renowned commercial photographer Tim Wallace shares insights and advice on the importance of learning to see an image before clicking the shutter.

David Bostock shares his experiences as an underwater photographer and offers advice on how to get started capturing underwater.

the Photographer is published four times a year by the British Institute of Professional Photography, The Artistry House, 16 Winckley Square, Preston, Lancashire PR1 3JJ T: 01772 367968 E: admin@bipp.com W: www.bipp.com Front Cover: Pia Rothmann

Head of Operations: Carmel Fanning

Editor: Joel Hansen, joel@bipp.com

President: Jeff Brown

Advertising: Tel 01772 367968 E-mail: admin@bipp.com

Directors: Paul Reiffer FBIPP (Chair) Barrie Spence FBIPP Matt Curtis LBIPP Johnson Wee FBIPP Michael Lane

UK Subscribers £30, Rest of the World £60 ISSN: 0031-8698. Printed and bound by Magazine Printing Company, Hoddesdon, Herts

Neither the BIPP nor any of its employees, members, contractors or agents accept any responsibility whatsoever for loss of or damage to photographs, illustrations or manuscripts or any other material submitted, howsoever caused. The views expressed in this magazine are the views of individual contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of the BIPP. All advertisements are accepted and all editorial matter published in good faith. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, that any particular product or service is available at the time of publication or at any given price. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, or stored in a retrieval system, or broadcast, published or exhibited without the prior permission of the publisher. This magazine is the copyright of the BIPP without prejudice to the right of contributors and photographers as defined in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Registered at Stationers’ Hall, Ref B6546, No. 24577. © BIPP 2026

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PRESIDENT JEFF BROWN

W

elcome to the Summer Edition of our magazine. As I sit here and write this column, we have another heatwave rolling in, hurray.

the algorithm finds someone else who is, and that could be a local competitor. Someone who’s willing to stay consistent even when things are quiet.

Summer can be a very contrasting time in the photography world. For some of us, it’s absolutely manic. For others, it’s eerily quiet.

But one thing that I’ve noticed after mentoring photographers across every niche for the past decade is that, regardless of how busy or quiet your summer is, a lot of photographers unfortunately make the same mistake. They stop working ON their business.

Even if you’re madly busy, commit to just one hour a day, three or four times a week, for business growth activities, what I call IGTs (Income Generating Tasks): things that get you noticed, build your network and can lead to more opportunities. It’s not a lot of time to commit, less than 10% of your working week. But it could be the difference between being booked for the next six months or scrambling for clients come the autumn.

If you’re a wedding photographer, the summer can be exhausting. I remember the peak season myself, we had weddings everywhere. Backto-back weekends and endless editing, with thousands upon thousands of photographs crying out for attention.

But in the rush to deliver those weddings and manage the workload, visibility quietly dies.

Social media goes silent, content creation stops, and your collaborations pause. Then October arrives. The wedding season starts to wind down, but as the busy spell comes to an end, you notice the enquiries have dried up.

Four months without being visible has taken its toll.

On the flip side, if you’re a commercial photographer, event photographer or school photographer, summer might feel like you’ve hit a wall. Things go quiet and that’s when despondency can start to creep in. You might think: “Why bother posting? Nobody’s booking anyway.” You fall out of your rhythm and reduce your visibility.

Unfortunately, social media isn’t loyal to you and you alone. The moment you stop showing up, stop creating content, stop being visible, 2 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2026 / Issue Two

So, whether you’re drowning in work or dealing with a quiet period, the answer is the same: you need to continue working ON your business, not just IN it.

Use these three hours or so a week to create and schedule content, engage with your community on LinkedIn, write a fortnightly blog post or newsletter, reach out to potential collaborators and joint venture partners, as well as planning your strategy for the year ahead, because it always comes around quicker than you’d like it to.

If you’re having a quiet summer, treat it like an opportunity.

It’s your moment to dive deep into your business goals.

Some of my most successful mentees I’ve worked with have told me that their quiet summers were transformational, not because bookings came in, but because they used the time strategically to build foundations and collaborations for the rest of the year ahead.

Speaking of collaboration, we are delighted to announce that the BIPP will be hosting our Summer Big Bash this August in Leeds. Mark your diaries for the 17th and 18th August. This is our chance to gather as a community, motivate and inspire one another.

More details are coming soon. But don’t wait until November for our annual gathering. Get along to Leeds.

Connect with fellow photographers, meet and listen to industry experts. Remind yourself that you’re part of something bigger, the British Institute of Professional Photography, it’s YOUR community.

Looking forward to seeing you in Leeds, and hopefully the sun will be shining too!

E D I TO R JOEL HANSEN

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nother fantastic year for BIPP members in the FEP Awards. It seems the BIPP’s success in this competition continues to grow year on year. It was great to see so many new names awarded from across Europe who are now members and are producing a broad range of highquality imagery. It shows just how diverse the membership is, not only in photographic output but also in the nationalities represented.

A big congratulations to Richard Bradbury for his Gold award in the Advertising & Commercial category. I’d already seen some of these images through the internal BIPP competitions, so it’s nice to see them receiving recognition on the European stage. Arun Mohanraj also performed exceptionally well once again across a number of categories and picked up another Gold award in the Sport category with his impactful, perfectly timed captures of athletes in action.

Elsewhere in the magazine, I was glad to receive another article submission from Tim Wallace. As an accomplished photographer in his field, his insights are always worth paying attention to. His latest piece, Seeing Before Shooting, is particularly relevant because it applies to all areas of photography, not just the commercial automotive sector for which he is best known. The article explores the importance of developing your vision before pressing the shutter and offers a valuable reminder that strong photography starts long before the camera is raised to your eye.

Another feature I was glad to include in this edition is the story of The Hardmans’ House, covering former BIPP member Edward Chambré Hardman, his wife Margaret, and the remarkable home-cum-studio they built together. Preserved today as a museum, it contains an extraordinary archive of

photographs, business records, personal papers and photographic equipment. It’s a story that combines a romance shaped by a shared passion for photography with a fascinating insight into how images gain value over time. What may once have seemed like an everyday photograph can eventually become an important historical document, offering future generations a window into the past.

I also have to thank the National Trust for kindly allowing us to reproduce images from The Hardmans’ House collection. After explaining the connection to the BIPP, they waived the usual licensing fees and granted permission for their use in this magazine.

The photographs themselves are excellent examples of Edward’s talent, ranging from traditional studio portraits to images made out on location, and they demonstrate the dedication he brought to different sectors of photography throughout his life.

Features such as The Hardmans’ House article and the Maurice Broomfield piece in the previous edition are always a pleasure to work on. I’m also keen to feature more of our senior members who remain active within the BIPP in future retrospective articles, so please get in touch if you’d like to share your story. It’s always fascinating to hear about your careers and revisit the images you’ve created over the years.

Another feature in this edition comes from David Bostock, following his exploration of the underwater world with a camera. I was already familiar with David’s black and white wedding photography through his successful Fellowship panel, so it was interesting to see that same quality of image-making transferred to a completely different environment. Despite the challenges of underwater photography, his distinctive style remains evident throughout the work. For me, some of the monochrome images were among the most striking, offering a refreshing contrast to the bright, colourful underwater photography we often see. As well as showcasing some fantastic imagery, the article is packed with useful advice for anyone looking to explore a new area of photographic practice.

As always, if you have an interesting project or any news you would like me to cover in the magazine, please get in touch at: joel@bipp.com Issue Two / 2026 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 3

F E P AWA R D S GOLD

4 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2026 / Issue Two

RICHARD BRADBURY A D V E R T I S I N G & CO M M E R C I A L

Richard Bradbury FBIPP Advertising & Commercial Golden Camera

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et’s face it, you never know if you are going to win a photographic award no matter how many competitions you enter. Bearing this in mind, I was both surprised and extremely proud to be named European Commercial Photographer of The Year by the esteemed FEP judges at this year’s ceremony in Reykjavík, Iceland. Sadly, I was not there on the night to receive the Golden Camera due to other work commitments, so I owe a big thank you to Barrie Spence for collecting my award and also congratulations to him for winning Silver in the People & Portrait category.

The Brits did pretty well overall. Out of the 12 categories, we achieved 2 Gold Cameras (Arun Mohanraj winning Gold for Sports… great result!), 1 Silver Camera (well done Barrie) and several top ten nominations.

There were over 3,000 entries from across Europe so it’s fair to say that the standard of UK photography is extremely high. If you want to check out the winners, go to the FEP website.

Image © Richard Bradbury

Issue Two / 2026 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 5