Biography

A little about me; my name is David and after years of perfecting my craft, I have become recognised in the photography industry as one of the finest and most consistent practitioners of the art.

At the age of 36, I was awarded the highest qualification, a Fellowship, with both ‘The British Institute of Professional Photography’ and ‘The Master Photographers Association’, at the time making me the youngest Fellow in Wedding Photography in the UK. I am proud to have won over 250 awards, including two Kodak Gold Awards and eight UK titles, for my artistry, quality and originality.

The UK titles are:

• MPA UK Landscape and Travel Photographer of the Year 2016
• MPA UK Classical Portrait Photographer of the Year 2014
• MPA UK Press and PR Photographer of the Year 2014
• MPA UK Landscape and Travel Photographer of the Year 2012
• MPA UK Commercial Photographer of the Year 2012
• Kodak MPA UK Portrait Photographer of the Year 2007
• MPA UK Family Portrait Photographer of the Year 2002
• MPA UK Under 5’s Portrait Photographer of the Year 2000
• Fellow of the British Institute of Professional Photography
• Fellow of the MasterPhotographers Association

Unfortunately, I don’t get the opportunity to enter as many competitions as I used to, as I am now regularly called upon to judge the awards by the Associations. I am also honoured to be asked to speak at events and seminars, passing on my knowledge and skills, gathered over the years, to photographers internationally.

Of course, this success didn’t come overnight…

Leaving school in 1979 I took on the role of a trainee Wedding & Portrait Photographer at ‘Buick Photographic’. Within just six weeks I was promoted to lead photographer in a demanding, busy studio.

Within two years I was head hunted by a larger studio, ‘Randall Photographic’, to run the wedding and portrait side of that business.

In 1983, I proudly started my own business ‘David P MacDonald Photography’. Initially I ran the business from home, photographing weddings and shooting portraits in clients’ houses.

Taking a leap of faith in 1997, I opened the doors to my first premises in Ware, building the business to shoot up to 150 weddings a year.

In 2000, I made the decision to focus on family portraiture, expanding into spacious factory units in Ware, Hertfordshire.

Despite much success, I missed being able to offer customers the personal touch that had always been a cornerstone of my business.

Therefore in 2020, I was delighted to open a purpose-built air-conditioned studio in the garden of my home in Wallington near Baldock. This means I can now offer studio portraits, with access to lush gardens and beautiful open countryside for outdoor photo opportunities.

In 2011 I was lucky enough to be approached by the world’s top cruise company, the six star Crystal Cruises. They invited me to become one of only seven of their ‘Master Photographers’, offering a bespoke portrait session service to their guests. It thrills me that I now have a list of clients from all over the world, who always contact me if they visit London. On occasion, I have also been fortunate enough to be asked to fly to exotic locations to shoot more work with them.

You might think that all this success could go to my head… but then you’ve never met my wife! She is quick to point out that I’ve worked for over forty years as a photographer, taking between 15,000 and 20,000 photographs per year. According to her, 250 awards isn’t a very good hit rate!