Andrew MacDonald Photo Shoots, locations and visual stories from the UK

Andrew MacDonald Photo

Shoots, locations and visual stories from the UK

Latest Articles

Folded Tables, First Light: A Portrait Field Guide to the Sunday Car Boot
Field Notes

Folded Tables, First Light: A Portrait Field Guide to the Sunday Car Boot

Sunday car boot sales are not a backdrop to be borrowed; they are a living British weekend ritual with their own light, etiquette and rhythm. This field guide covers scouting a UK sale, packing a portable kit, approaching stallholders and customers with respect, and composing editorial or couple portraits that feel rooted in the morning rather than styled from a mood board.
The Half-Lit Wing: Portrait Notes from Behind an Amateur Stage
Field Notes

The Half-Lit Wing: Portrait Notes from Behind an Amateur Stage

Amateur theatres are full of portrait sets that no studio could invent: crowded dressing rooms, half-lit stairwells, prop stores and the strange blue glow of a stage wing. This is a practical field guide to borrowing those spaces politely, lighting them simply and directing non-professional sitters without turning a rehearsal into a photoshoot.
Borrowed Light: Editorial Portraits in Britain's Public Libraries
Field Notes

Borrowed Light: Editorial Portraits in Britain's Public Libraries

Public libraries are some of the last genuinely civic rooms left in Britain — and they make uncommonly honest portrait sets. A few notes on access, difficult lighting and why the quietest room in town might be your next editorial location.
Order at the Counter: Finding Portrait Gold in Britain's Everyday Rooms
Opinion

Order at the Counter: Finding Portrait Gold in Britain's Everyday Rooms

Manicured venues are easy to photograph and easy to forget. The best wedding and editorial portraits often come from chip shops, laundrettes and community cafes, where texture, colour and real life do the heavy lifting.
Between the Bean Rows: Shooting Allotment Portraits in the UK
Field Notes

Between the Bean Rows: Shooting Allotment Portraits in the UK

Allotment sites are quietly brilliant portrait sets: textured, seasonal and full of small stories. This field guide covers permission etiquette, changing light, shed backdrops and how to pose people among the bean rows without making it look staged.
The Top Deck Is the Studio: A Field Guide to Car Park Portraits
Field Notes

The Top Deck Is the Studio: A Field Guide to Car Park Portraits

Multi-storey car parks are not glamorous, but they are graphic, weatherproof and quietly brilliant for UK portrait shoots. Here is how to scout, light and shoot a car park set that looks deliberate rather than desperate.
No Chandeliers, No Problem: In Praise of the Village Hall Wedding
Opinion

No Chandeliers, No Problem: In Praise of the Village Hall Wedding

Village halls, community centres and scout huts are not compromise venues. They are honest rooms with honest light, and they often give UK wedding portraits more character than a country-house backdrop ever could.
The Hour Nobody Photographs: Defending the Space Between the Vows and the First Dance
Opinion

The Hour Nobody Photographs: Defending the Space Between the Vows and the First Dance

Everyone plans the ceremony. Everyone plans the party. The bit in the middle — the walk, the pub stop, the chippy detour, the ten minutes of nobody saying anything — is where the honest photographs hide. An argument for guarding it fiercely.
The 14:52 to Nowhere in Particular: Britain's Railway Stations as Portrait Sets
Field Notes

The 14:52 to Nowhere in Particular: Britain's Railway Stations as Portrait Sets

Forget another walled garden. From Victorian termini to a two-bench halt in the middle of nowhere, Britain's railway stations are packed with texture, narrative and a very particular kind of light. Here's how I scout them, shoot them and stay on the right side of the staff who run them.
Rain Is Part of the Set: A Wet-Weather Case for UK Portrait Shoots
Opinion

Rain Is Part of the Set: A Wet-Weather Case for UK Portrait Shoots

A little rain rarely ruins a portrait shoot—it often improves it. Here is why I now treat wet weather as a creative collaborator, plus the gear, pacing and people skills that make a UK downpour work.
Salt, Stone and Sea Fog: Ten Coastal UK Sets for Editorial Portraits
Field Notes

Salt, Stone and Sea Fog: Ten Coastal UK Sets for Editorial Portraits

Beach huts are fine, but the UK coast has stranger, quieter and more useful backdrops for editorial portraits. Here are ten locations worth the tide table, the walk and the early alarm.
Short Days, Long Shadows: Making UK Winter Light Work for Editorial and Wedding Portraits
Field Notes

Short Days, Long Shadows: Making UK Winter Light Work for Editorial and Wedding Portraits

A practical field guide to the UK's early winter sunsets, flat grey skies and low-angle light — and why the season's short daylight can give editorial and wedding portraits more character, not less.
Forget the Lawn: Finding Wedding Portrait Character on UK High Streets
Opinion

Forget the Lawn: Finding Wedding Portrait Character on UK High Streets

Stately gardens are lovely, but the UK's ordinary streets — bus stops, corner shops, terraced rows — often give wedding and editorial portraits more honesty, texture and a sense of place. Here's why I'm choosing the high street more often.