PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER PATRICK STEEL

About Patrick

My father, Arthur Steel, is a renowned Fleet Street photographer and because of his career I grew up surrounded by photographic equipment and cameras. From the age of seven I would help my father print black and white images in the darkroom. Later on in life I studied photography for a year at college and after undergoing a fortnight of unpaid work experience I was lucky enough to be offered a full time position at London’s largest photographic studio, Holborn Studios.

I worked there for a couple of years as a studio assistant, setting up lighting and backgrounds for a vast cross-section of photographers and then went on to assist as a freelancer for a further eight years travelling extensively around the globe on assignments working closely with many of Britain’s wonderful and well respected celebrity photographers, including the late, great Terry O’Neill. We worked on countless assignments together including formal portraits of Her Majesty the Queen at both Buckingham Palace and Sandringham. I was also lucky enough to have worked extensively with celebrity photographers David Steen, Brian Aris and Brian Moody, to name but a few.

Image: Patrick; standing next to one of his large-scale portraits of James, JH XVII ‘Superstar’.

In the late 90’s I became a professional photographer in my own right, however, after careful consideration I decided not to continue with a career photographing celebrities. Instead, I chose to shoot still-life photography within a controlled studio environment. Over time, my interest in the technical side of photography flourished and I went on to work in below-the-line advertising, working with advertising agencies and art-directors, photographing both people and still-life commissions. I spent years shooting images for major banks, oil and mobile phone companies, including the international airline British Airways. My work spanned a diverse range of high profile brands and I thoroughly enjoyed shooting each and every assignment.

More recently, I’ve been specialising in interiors photography working directly with interior designers on their projects. I also shoot my own photographic artworks and landscapes. And I now manage two photographic print archives, selling both my father’s rare black and white photographs at arthursteel.co.uk and rare photographs from the 70’s and 80’s captured by the late David Steen at davidsteen.co.uk to collectors worldwide.

And I am truly honoured to have been the last photographer to capture fine art portraits of James.

Image: Patrick with the first Artist Proof’s ever printed.

“He was a Playboy; at the best level, glamorous, colourful and exciting.” – Sir Jackie Stewart

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