Career History
For dates & specifics please refer to my CV.
Here is a brief (-ish!) run down of my career to date. I will start with the most recent and then go back to the beginning!
I have been freelancing since the beginning of 2008 having returned to work after having my second child.
Most recently I have been working on a number of projects for Pearson Education (Book Publishers) , researching a range of Vocational & ELT titles including Childcare, Child Development, Business and History, Tourism & Psychology as well as also arranging photo shoots for them. I have also worked for Hello! Magazine, freelancing in-house as well as acting Picture Editor of two fashion special ;& a full historical retrospective on a Prince Philip. I also acted as a consultant for Bauer Publishing working on their shopping website Cocosa.com advising them on copyright issues and negotiating new agency contracts on their behalf. Almost all my work is done remotely. I upload onto an online system (Capturedesk) where my research can be viewed as I do it. This means I can respond to even the most urgent requests without delay. I can also work in-house by arrangement for up to 2/3days a week and attend photo- shoots as required.
Previous to this I was at the Daily Mail - intitially on staff as Deputy Picture Editor of Femail and Features. I spent two years here researching everything from beauty, health & lifestyle to Hitler, alien abductions, celebrities & of course news. The variety was constant (& the deadlines murderous!) Consequently I have a fantastic knowledge of picture collections worldwide and a great eye for finding the best picture - quickly! I left on maternity leave returning on a freelance basis a year later as Deputy Picture Editor of Weekend Magazine for 3 years and Picture Editor for one. Here the focus was two fold - in depth research combined with fabulous shoot planning - everything from working with top celebrities to simple case histories. Choosing the right photographer for the job together with stylists, locations & props where needed, and bringing it all in on budget.
All of this started however with a degree in photography from The London College of Printing which was my passion from an early age. From here I spent a year travelling around the world photographing everything in sight before returning to the UK and getting my first job in a small picture library. In addition to all picture research I was also responsible for negotiating fees & clearing copyright on all the images supplied. I also worked with the contributing photographers and edited their submissions. I moved from here to join The Image Bank (now part of Getty Images) spending the next five years as head of their publishing & travel divisions - eventually running a team of two researchers, two account handlers & an admin assistant. It was my job to ensure briefs had been interpreted correctly, all fees and copyrights negotiated & to work with the marketing dept on all direct mail campaigns - choosing imagery & ultimately responsible for increasing revenue across both divisions.
From here I decided a change was needed & decided to go freelance as a picture researcher and spent six months working for a variety of magazines, book publishers & ad agencies before being offered the staff job at the Daily Mail.
Well thats it - my career in a nutshell! I hope you have found it of interest and are able to utilize my services going forward!