References for Dek14

Geraldine Bell

I met derek as part of a group shoot at York photo studio - he was willing to take advice about the best way to capture movement and he was very lovely and complimentary. I have liked the edits that I’ve seen so far and found the shoot to be an easy and fun experience

Marie Jean Saxton

I have had two fantastic shoots with Derek, first one was at York photo studio where we did some classic art nude work and I was impressed with is use of lighting and angles straight away. The second shoot we shot from my home studio and again worked on a range of ideas. Derek shot a great selection with me and utilised every room in my home beautifully! He is such an easy photographer to work with, everything flows and we have a great laugh working together. If you haven’t worked with Derek before I highly recommend him. A fantastic photographer and lovely gentleman to work with.

Best wishes

Marie

X

Keira Lavelle

Derek and I enjoyed our first shoot together on location in my neck of the woods recently. :) We initiated communication with Derek applying to a casting I had active for location work: I had discovered some epic new locations as of late so we got chatting and planning a number of places that we could visit in a single half day. Derek's communications were perfect from the start and we had a date/time/ideas all discussed and sorted in just a small exchange of messages - always a good thing when planning these things so off to a great start we were. :D

We had discussed the obvious safety precautions of the times we were living in prior to the shoot and Derek was very understanding and supportive of the notion to work with care and be mindful of the guidelines which was very reassuring. He came to mine and from there followed me in our separate cars to the first site (a cool urbex place) and we cracked on in no time at all cooking up ideas for every corner of the first location. :D After that: we moved on to a small waterfall/woodland area which was actually a "plan B" when we'd attempted another site but found it unsuspectingly closed due to recent issues associated with the virus. Even with the change of itinerary on the day; we still had a productive and successful time making pictures at each location and being inspired by the surroundings and light. Derek saw opportunities very quickly at each place and showed a huge amount of enthusiasm throughout to make use of the environmental features as part of the awesome images created on the day. There was quite a mix we got in for sure!

The derelict/urbex site is strangely right next to the main road which enabled an easy transportation of outfits down to grab different looks. We made prolific use of the abandonment vibe to the place; a mix of characterful building features and nature taking over! Derek was also quick to spot opportunities where the light particularly caught his eye to add atmosphere to the shots: be it soft and lit or something a bit more gritty. He knew exactly what he was after in an image but was also willing to work as a team and discuss different possibilities/suggestions which is a very important part of working with other creatives. The generation of a good rapport. :)

The woodland location gave us something very different indeed to work with: not least a different set of challenges with the light which Derek did well to adapt and work around as we moved around from place to place where the conditions varied. Again: Derek spotted things quickly and within 30 seconds of arriving at the next spot to shoot at; we already had 6 different "shots" to tick off the list! Neither risking getting soaked/hop-skipping over tree roots or hiking through thick mud phased Derek! He has a huge level of determination which is a huge positive when you're taking on the great outdoors and need to be on your toes for making the best of your resources and time working together.

Derek was a pleasure to shoot with, and someone I would most definitely be happy to work with again. :) He was respectful and decent, had professional etiquette and took the limitations of the pandemic seriously - but didn't let it stop him making beautiful images. He's a photographer I would very much recommend to my fellow models and cannot thank him enough for a very pleasant afternoon's worth of adventures on location!

So thank you Derek!

Keira

Jenny Ai said...

I had a four our shoot with Derek today. He arrived nice and early allowing us to make most use of the daylight.

Derek was easygoing, relaxed and fun to work with. As well as that he’s willing to show me the pics he took of me from time to time. And I have to say that I like the results.

Derek made a nice cup of coffee and he also brought snacks. What a considerate man!

Definitely highly recommended! Thank you for a wonderful shoot, Derek!

Lana Harding

I had a lovely hotel shoot with Derek! He works professionally and efficiently, and is willing to go the extra mile to get the perfect shot! He clearly takes a great deal of pride in his work, which coupled with the fact that he’s also lovely to chat to, made for a very relaxed and productive shoot!

Bluu Sinn

Second shoot to date.

Fully recommended

Angie1 (Angelica)

Another fabulous and fun shoot at my home as location.

We shot some beautiful images!

The time as usual went too quickly and I as always recommend Derek to any model.

Merry Christmas my friend, you have placed light upon a dark year for me with our shoots and your friendship

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Angie1 (Angelica)

I always love shooting with this man, he is what I consider a great friend. Our third shoot together at my home and the shots are so beautiful!

Thank you though for making me smile as life can get awfully tough at times x

Irongem / Gemma

I had a second shoot with this lovely soul whilst on a short stay down in Newcastle. Derek is so easy to get along with and just an absolute delight to work alongside.

He is happy with suggesting the best angles, areas for lighting and just getting the best out of images which is great as a model to know you are getting captured in a flattering way.

I highly recommend shooting with this gentlemen. He creates a lovely comfortable atmosphere and as said is just a delight to work with. We got along very well the same as our first shoot and captured images which I am so pleased to look at!

Thanks again for an enjoyable (and very quick few hours!!) Shoot. :)

Wendy Louise Howard

I had the Absolute Pleasure of working with the lovely Derek for a second time on my recent trip to Sunderland.

As normal Derek was a delight to be around...

Friendly, Professional, Fun, Creative, Relaxed, Good eye... Just a few words to describe Derek.

If you get the chance to work with Derek, jump at it.

You wont be disappointed.

Highly recommended by me with 5 stars *****

Thanks Derek and I look forward to next time.

Renaissance xx

KatyB (Katex)

Woo! Had the oppurtunity to work with Derek again in Newcastle, this time at my airbnb, whereas we did shoot at studio f2.8.

As soon as he opened his mouth I remembered what a great shoot the last one was, and how much i bloody laughed!

Derek knows what hes doing with the camera, and we got some brilliant shots using the airbnb to the best extent we could! non stop ideas between us two... in between the fits of giggles!

Derek always brightens up my North tours, and i hope theres more shoots to come with him!

Always an absolute pleasure, highly recommended.

Katy

KourtneyM

I had my second shoot with Derek and it went great! I can highly recommend to any model. Love the images from the shoot and I hope to work together again.

Thank you,

Kourtney

Aurora.

I had the pleasure to work with Derek on a photography trip in Portugal. He is a very respectful and professional photographer, with a good eye to photography and creative ideas. Would love to work with him again and 100% recommended!

Kiara Jade

I met Derek on a recent photography trip in Portugal.

We worked together on many occasions, group shoots and on one to ones. He is a friendly, easy going man, made me feel comfortable and relaxed on shoots. Im very pleased with the images, was a pleasure to work with him.

I highly recommend him and would love to work with him again.

Talli Lyndsey

I had the pleasure of working with Derek recently for the 2nd time on a location and home shoot whilst the weather was gloriously sunny last week!

We did coastal fashion sets and then worked on a selection of art nude sets later on at my home.

Pre communication was excellent as usual and derek was polite. I would recommended them and look forward to seeing more of our images soon.

Talli 😊

Irongem / Gemma

Derek and I worked together whilst I am staying down in Newcastle. I had the use of a lovely photoraphers home and the two of us just got left to do our thing whilst he was off to work.

We got wonderful use of the daylight, coupled with Derek's photography skills and keen eye for model photography to create some lovely images, from what i've seen so far.

We got along rather well and had alot of hilarity whilst Derek maintained complete professionalism too. We tried out numerous different ideas and ran through too many sets to count! Out time together flew by and we even ended up doing an extra hour because it was passing so quickly!

Very lovely man, full of ideas and can give direction to achieve what he wants aswell as leave you to pose off your own accord.

Highly recommend gentlemen. Thanks for a great shoot.

I'll see you again in the future I hope!

Bluu Sinn

First time shooting with Derek. He arrived at my home bright and early ready to go. He made me feel very comfortable and is very easy going and relaxed. The light wasn't in our side as such but we managed to create some lovely images thanks to Derek's talent.

I look forward to working with him in the future. I would highly recommend.

Lauren.

Angie1 (Angelica)

My first shoot with Derek and what a pleasure to shoot with!

Lovely personality and amazing imagery! I can’t wait to see the images!

Really hope I get to shoot with this professional again.

Angie

KourtneyM

I had an excellent shoot with Derek that I really enjoyed! I would recommend him to any model if you are going to work with him! I love the images that I’ve seen so far from the shoot and I hope we can work together again in the future. Thanks for a great shoot!

Kourtney

Hazel Rose

I recently had my first shoot with Derek whilst on tour in his area.

He was a delight to meet and shoot with. Fun, professional and friendly.

Throughout the shoot we tried a variety of levels, styles, lighting and had a fun, creative time.

His comms were fantastic from the planning of the shoot to his arrival on the day and it was so easy to plan and arrange things.

I can easily recommend shooting with Derek, he is such a lovely gent and a fun, friendly guy to meet and work with!