2017 A Year In Focus With The Bigger Picture

Angela Carrington is a professional photographer and Managing Director at The Bigger Picture Agency, a photography firm located in Newcastle's Biscuit Factory.

2017 has been a year of growth and positive change for The Bigger Picture with an increased workload, a focused approach to business and investment in new technology.

What have been your highlights of 2017?

At the start of the year, I made a conscious decision to focus on parts of the photography industry that I both enjoyed and was beneficial to the business. Increasingly we’ve been asked to provide high quality images for the construction and building industry. This is something I particularly enjoy doing as it gives me an opportunity to catalogue the development of a building from foundation to completion. The images are then used in advertising, proposals and submissions, websites and PR work too.

What building projects have you documented?

Perhaps the most historical is the 18-month long project I’m currently doing for Meldrum Construction who are involved in a multi-millionpound renovation of Auckland Castle. We’ve fitted timelapse cameras which will allow their customers to see how the work progressed over time. I’m also taking stills and video at key stages of the refurbishment so that in future years there will be a record of the work carried out. It’s fascinating to see a building transform over the months. I recently did a similar project with the old Co-Op building in Newcastle when it was converted into a hotel and featured on Channel 4’s Great British Buildings – Restoration Project of the Year. Work on heritage projects is becoming something of a speciality for us.

Do you just work on large building projects?

Not at all. In the property sector, we are gaining a growing reputation for being the “go to” firm as far as photography is concerned. We are able to provide a full service to estate agents including photography, floor plans, EPC’s and if needed, video too.

Tell us about the new technology you’ve invested in?

We’ve always used high quality cameras with state of the art lenses but recently we’ve invested in time lapse cameras and a new 360 degree camera that allows viewers to have a totally immersive VR experience. Technology is moving very quickly and it’s so important that we are at the forefront of new visual trends.

What other work do you do?

We’ve now expanded our team because of the demand for our work. We are specialists in PR photography and can capture the right angle to enhance the chances of getting a story into the media. We are also increasingly being asked to photograph events such as the Great North Run this year covering the event for no less than 6 national charities; we also shoot many charity balls and the annual Stampede event.

To manage this, we have a unique workflow system in-place which means that from booking a photographer through to post production and finally delivery, our clients not only receive the quality product we’ve become synonymous with, but also receive excellent customer service.

What about next year?

Our business is growing year on year because of the long-term relationships we establish with our clients. We make it clear to new clients that we always have their best interest at heart and to do that we get to know their business and products inside out. We’ve found that this helps us both to grow. Ethics and loyalty are important to me and I’ll never take on a job that compromises my business relationships.

We’re currently inviting enquiries from forwardthinking companies looking to commission projects for 2018 and as our team has grown significantly, we now have specialists for every type of photographic work.

We’ve come a very long way from the days when it was just me and my camera and I’m looking forward to further growth in 2018.