Garden photography
Private or designer commissions, public parks, all photographed in Clive’s signature style, when the light is at its best, almost exclusively during the golden hour at dawn and dusk.
Gardens in the first and last light
- First and last light of the day
- Flexible shoot dates depending on light and weather
- Botanical knowledge
- Captioned, retouched edit
- Britain and Europe
Clive has photographed gardens for forty years, and most of his work is still captured in the hour after sunrise and the hour before dusk, when low light gives borders their depth and the garden its atmosphere. He shoots when the weather delivers; shoot dates are required to be flexible with the forecast so that a garden is photographed at its peak, not on the day that happened to be in the diary.
Garden designers and landscape architects are the largest part of the studio’s work – finished gardens for portfolios, press and awards. Private owners increasingly commission a record of a garden they have spent years making, often as a privately printed book. Public gardens, estates and parks make up the rest.
Clive has an excellent understanding of plants and flowers, garnered over his extensive career. That botanical knowledge shows in what he chooses to photograph and when, and it is why his photographs appear in House & Garden, Gardens Illustrated, Country Life, Homes & Gardens and hundreds of books and calendars.
Among the designers who commission Clive: AWB Associates, Andy Sturgeon, Xa Tollemache, Studio Pollyanna Landscape Design and Harry Holding.
Questions
When is the best time to photograph a garden?
Most gardens have a window of a few weeks when they are at their best. Clive will take the time to correspond with the owner or designer to establish the optimum time: seasonal colour, blossom and bulbs in spring; early summer, bringing longer days and the first perennials; late-summer glory, blazing autumn colour, and finally that much anticipated frost. Within that, Clive shoots in the first hour after sunrise and the last before dusk, when the light is low and the garden is dripping with atmosphere.
How long does a shoot take?
Usually a full day: dawn and dusk for the garden, the middle of the day for details and plant portraits. A large garden or estate may take two.
What if the weather is wrong on the day?
We hold a window rather than a fixed date and shoot when the forecast delivers. A garden is photographed at its peak, not on the day that happened to be in the diary.
What do I receive?
A curated edit of finished, retouched photographs, captioned and delivered digitally, with a licence for your own use. Private owners can add a privately printed book of the garden, edited and designed with the studio.
Will my garden be published?
Not without your agreement. Private gardens are never published or licensed unless the owner wants them to be; for designers, editorial placement in a magazine can be arranged through the studio.
Do you travel?
Yes. The studio is in Oxfordshire and Clive works across the UK, with regular commissions in France, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Greece and further afield.
