End Of Year Roundup Pete Martin Photography

Leicester Headshot Photographer Pete Martin 2024 roundup

Professional Corporate and Events Photographer Pete Martin - Leicester

My Best Year Yet

I'm so excited to share that this has been my best year yet as a professional photographer! I've had the opportunity to work on some amazing projects, meet some incredible people, and capture some truly unforgettable moments.

I'm grateful to all of my clients for trusting me with their photography needs. I couldn't have done it without you!

Here are a few highlights from my year:

 * Working with the brilliant people over at Miele

 * Learning more video and drone skills

 * Selling an image to the Daily Telegraph for a1yr usage

I'm so excited to see what next year brings! I can't wait to continue to grow my business and capture even more amazing moments.

Thank you for reading!

Sincerely,

Pete M

Young People Work Experience Photography Leicestershire

Young People Work Experience Photography Leicestershire

Location photography in the workplace, environmental portraits

One of my first ever clients was LEBC (Leicester Education Business Company) I was tasked to shoot their National Citizen Service awards ceremony at Athena Leicester. It was a great evening, over two nights as there were so many young people receiving awards. It was at this time that I also swapped camera brands from Canon to Sony. My assistant was using Sony and when I edited his photos a few days later I knew I just had to swap brands, this was summer 2018. Canon have now caught up I believe, but I’m firmly in camp Sony!

Anyway, back to summer 2024. I had the call to photograph various young people on work experience. I did this 2 years ago and it was a fun day! This year is was split over two days due to the amount of young people in placements.

Over the two days I visited a Florist, University of Leicester, Leicester Royal Infirmary, an engineering factory, Belgrave Hall and Gardens, a gym, a building society, my friend Rob Spence at Paragon Sales Solutions and a few more.

All of the young people were very engaged and enthusiastic about their placements, it was great to witness. Photographing this was pure joy, and I loved hearing about their individual journeys and aspirations. 

I shot this very simply, one camera (Sony A7 IV), one lens (Sigma Art 35mm f/1.4) and the occasional on camera flash (Godox V1).

The Corporate Headshot, or Business Portrait

The Corporate Headshot, or Business Portrait

Pete Martin specialist Leicester Headshot & Portrait Photographer

While I do enjoy all aspects of the areas of photography I work in (events, drone, web content and headshots) the Corporate Headshot or Business Portrait will always hold something special for me.

The excitement when I get an enquiry for this service is pretty unmatched. I know when I get that person in front of my camera i’m going to learn about that person, I get to hear about the journey, their struggles and successes. I almost get to take something away from that person.

Most of the time, people don’t like having their photo taken, especially in the close up situation of a Headshot.

It’s my job to put that person at ease and get them the photo they want, desire or require. Maybe it’s just for LinkedIn, it could be for their new book. Maybe an album cover, possibly going on their companies website.. Have they been chosen to speak at a conference and require their headshot to be sent out to all delegates and even displayed on the screens at the side of the stage. It could be that the person has written an article for a business magazine and they need a photo to accompany it, showing the face of the person who wrote it.

All of the above situations require something slightly different, and every person is unique.

This is where I shine. My personal skills are something I get as many comments on as my photography skills.

Take a look at a few recent headshot/portrait examples as of July 2024

#LeicesterPortraitPhotographer #LeicesterHeadshotPhotographer #PeteMartinPhotography #LocationHeadshots #HeadshotsEastMidlands #LinkedInProfilePhoto

Marketing Photography East Midlands

Marketing Photography Leicester & East Midlands

Leicester Branding Photographer

I was approached by Tom Bates from Altitude Marketing over in Loughborough a few weeks ago, we discussed me going in for a couple of hours to capture headshots (not typical) and some general office lifestyle images.

I’ve known Tom for a while, he has another business, ‘The Printers’ also over in Loughborough. They have done business cards, workwear and mugs for me in the past. There for all your print needs!

I didn’t know much about ‘Altitude’ so it was nice to go in and mett the whole team so see hoe they work.

The brief for the shoot was keep it light and fun, to show the team as they are.

Take a look at a few of the images from the half day shoot below. There were around 200 images delivered from this shoot.

East Midlands Event Photographer

Leicester & East Midlands Event Photographer

Professional Event Photographer covering Leicester, Nottingham, Birmingham, Northampton (East Midlands)

A few weeks ago I had two events back to back, Menphys sports club and the Real Entrepreneurs Dinner. 

Menphys Sports Club is done of my favourite events to photogrtaph, all of the guests are great and the speakers are brilliant. The events are always really well attended and there’s so much to capture. 

Gear wise on these events I like to keep it quite simple, One Camera and a 28-75mm zoom lens. This allows me to capture people right in front of me and up to around 8-10m away. Over the winter months when the ambient light is lower I also use an on camera flash unit to help light the scene. During the summer months I often ditch the flash and zoom lens and go for a 24mm & 50mm prime and shoot more ‘wide open’ to get a slightly different look. 

When I photograph the speaker being interviewed on stage I’m often at the back of the room to try and keep out of the way of the guests, I don’t want my job to spoil their enjoyment of the event. For this reason I switch lens to the awesome 135mm f/1.8. It gives me ample reach to the stage area while staying on the sidelines. 

Menphys also have a ‘media board, this a branded fabric banner which at the end the guests can have a professional photo with the speaker. For this I set up a studio flash with a soft box on a stand, It really makes people look their best. Check out what a camera phone captures compared to my set up… very different!

An iPhone 13 Pro photo from the event

My photo from the professional equipment

Take a look at a few images from this event.

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Next up was the Real Entrepreneurs Dinner at Winstanley House. I don’t get the shoot many of these events as they have a regular photographer, a very good friend of mine. He was shooting another event so the organisers ‘Cross Productions’ got in touch with me again. 

The theme of the the evening is very similar to Menphys, open networking and drinks on arrival, a sit down meal followed by an excellent speaker 

Gear wise, it was exactly the same as Menphys… One camera with zoom lens and a flash, then change lens to capture the speaker.

Here are a few examples from the evening.

Both of these events were edited and delivered the very next morning, so the organisers could create social media posts and send out to the attendees. 

Leicestershire Law Firm Portraits and Headshots

Leicestershire Photographer - Law Firm Portraits and Headshots

Business headshots for websites and Linkedin.

When a client returns to Pete Martin Photography multiple times, it's a testament to the quality and trust i’ve built with my customers. I pride myself on providing consistent, top-notch photography services that meet and exceed my clients' expectations. It's always a pleasure to welcome back familiar faces, knowing that they continue to choose Pete Martin Photography for their special moments.

Thank you to all or my returning clients for placing your trust in me time and time again.

One such client is a Johnson Astills, a brilliant Leicester Law firm.

I was back in January to photography new starters and a couple of people who have changed their appearance over the course of the last 12-14 months.

This local business resquires half body portraits, which then get resized via their website for more of headshot crop. Also I provide them with all the images in a transparant .png file, which means the background has been removed. This is useful for when you want the person to ‘float’ above the websites graphical design. Check it out below.

Portrait with background removal

Check out a few more examples below, could this style of photography help your business stand out?

Get in touch for a no obligation consultation, lets see how I can help you.

Commercial Photographer Leicestershire

Commercial Photographer Leicester

Website and social media content creator Leicester

Earlier this month I was asked to photograph the lovely people at Premier Logistics in Leicestershire.

A short brief was put together to make sure every image they required was captured during my morning on site. Having a brief (or shot list) is my preferred way of working as it insures I get what the client wants.

The main bulk of images was centered around this factory, showcasing their incredible fleet of trucks, their massive warehouse space and the fairly new servicing department. I also put the drone up to get a couple of ariel shots.

My personal favourite shots were the headshots. These needed to be on brand, featuring the companies prominent colour of orange. Their boardroom is decked out in orange so it was pretty simple to do.

Have a look at the shot video and some of the sample shots below.

If your business could benefit from new images and video, please get in touch either using the contact page, the simple booking form, or even a phone call!

New Year New Headshot

Headshot Photographer Leicester

New Year, New Me, New Headshot.

Time for a headshot or portrait upgrade?

You’d think i’d have an up to date headshot wouldn’t you??

Turn out my last headshot was done during the pandemic, around May 2020!!!

Definitely time to get a fresh one sorted. I waited till I had a morning free, & set up in my living room when everyone else was out. Also, i’d had a haircut the day before, so I was feeling all fresh!

Sony camera with 50mm lens (normally use 85 but I was stuck on space!), two strip/soft boxes with studio flash units, and a pop up dark textured backdrop was all that was needed!.

I tethered the camera straight to Capture One Pro on my iPad Pro and started remotely firing the the camera. After doing all the charity vlogs last year I feel way more comfortable in front of the camera and only had to do minor coaching on myself!

I did a couple of wardrobe changes, to add a little interest and colour and that was it.

Here is my new 2024 Headshot

2024 Headshot, taken with my mobile studio… in my lounge!

Taking the photo is only stage one.

After the image was lightly edited it was then exported in various sizes and uploaded to every social platform I use for business… that would be, Linkedin, Twitter, YouTube, Google. Then my business tools like Xero, Starling and of course my email signature.

You can’t beat a consistent look across all platforms!

Now, lets see the old 2020 headshot… see how i’ve aged!

2020 headshot, different lighting to the new one

And now for a good laugh, here is 2016’s headshot!!

2016’s headshot, good hair, not many grey’s + moody lighting

Drop me an email or give me a call if you are looking to refresh you look for 2024.

New Year New Photos, Leicester Photographer wrap up!

New Year New Photos, Leicester Photographer wrap up!

Portrait Photographer in Leicester

End of 2023, beginning of 2024!

My end of year was a little quiet work wise, which was nice as I’d completed lots in October & November.

I completed a shoot at Everyone Active Enderby, they have a new soft play area and required shots of the facility empty and in use. I had 15 mins from when the last bit of cleaning was completed to when the kids arrived to play and test out the equipment.

Commercial Photography

Derby Everyone Active has something very similar and i’ve seen how popular that was when I photographed it last year. 

My last job of the year was for the amazing Furnley House, recording their MD’s end of year round up presentation which also featured future goals. 

They had a special guest, none other than my mum’s favourite exercise and nutrition expert from the 1980’s, Rosemary Conley.

I set up one camera on a tripod with a wireless mic, and had another camera which I used to walk around and capture other angles etc. 

Three video clips were edited on the first week of 2024 and delivered to their marketing department. 

On December 28th it was wedding time.. not mine, but I co-led the ‘Jay Nandha’ wedding team for their last wedding of the year at Winstanley House. Jay was away in India visiting family so his team assembled to get the job done. Jay will now edit photos and videos for the happy couple. 

On the 29th December, my website took a headshot booking. 

Business portrait Leicester

Did you know you can now book and pay for your session directly from my site, it’s so simple!

the session took place in Oadby on the 2nd Jan.

5th Jan I was back working for Everyone Active, this time in Derby. A full day capturing the whole site so they have enough images for the next three months to use for marketing. 

Fitness shoot

Saturday 6th It was a very quick shoot at Enderby Everyone Active  capturing the new party rooms in action. 

Sunday, it was off to Birmingham to shoot my good friend Dan Hawkins doing his roaming bongo drums gig! 

Musician Photoshoot

This blew me away, it’s so simple, yet so effective!!  I was tasked with shooting mostly photos but grabbing some 4k video too. The shots turned out great!! There was also a violin player there, she was awesome too!.

Live music photoshoot

Tuesday 9th I was back to GP3 Financial Solutions in Oadby, they last had me in during the summer of 2022 for team headshots. There was now 5 new people to photograph and a group to shoot too. Brilliant people here, always super prepared and ready for the shoot. I delivered the retouched images later that day, check out this email reply sent after they received the photos… 

Leicester headshot photographer

The Business Portrait

Wednesday 10th It was back to Johnson Astills in Leicester for more photos of the associate partners and also the new recruits. whilst there we also topped up the image library of the various teams.

Lawyer Portrait

Leicester Law Firm

Lawyer Portraits Leicester

That brings us right back to the today, Thursday 11th Jan..

Today was back to back meetings, Networking over breakfast, end of year accountant meet, creative design agency followed by the Trustees of LAMP.. who are considering have me join the board!

Phew… 

What a start to the year!

Corporate headshots for the whole firm

Leicestershire Law Firm Event & Headshots

Some of you may know I’m a keen runner, and one of the guys I run with (Matt Green) introduced me to Leicester Law Firm Johnson Astills. They have recently moved into the Matiolli Woods building in the city center.

They are looking for updated portraits of all the key staff who deal with the clients. As they are a pretty large firm (40+) they was going to take 2 days get everyone done. They are also a growing company, so a retainer has been put in place for me to go in and photograph the new staff shortly after they have started with the firm.

There were very specific requirements for portraits, my usual high resolution large files and also 300x400mm 72dpi no larger than 1mb for at the request of their web designers. And also cutouts on a transparent background so the person can appear over an existing image on the website. It was a wills extra time, but absolutely no trouble for me. 

Just before the first portrait session, Johnson Astills also asked if I could shoot a short event they were holding in the Sky Lounge at Matiolli Woods. This would be for partners and clients to attend. It was a really nice event with some quality catering. 

Here are a few photos from the open event and the portrait sessions.