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John Dempsie | Photographer

1. As a brilliant young photographer, John Dempsie was much sought after in Fleet Street by the major newspapers, and for 2 decades he covered major events for Associated News, and Mirror Group News.

2. The images he captured regularly faced readers of the Daily and Sunday Mail, Daily and Sunday Mirror, The People, The Record, the Evening News... His pictures are of such quality that they have regularly been syndicated.  

3. John covered the weddings of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, and Viscount Linley.

4. He was chosen to capture wedding shots of some of Britain's most celebrated couples for syndication: to name but a few - Mr & Mrs Paul Gascoigne, Mr & Mrs Steve Davis, Fat Boy Slim, Bill Wyman and Mandy Smith... He has now covered about 400 weddings.

5. On behalf of Associated News and Mirror Group News (and therefore on behalf of the British Public) John has been asked to photograph

  • HRH The Queen and Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.
  • 5 Prime Ministers.
  • 4 US Presidents, including a 1:1 with President Ronald Reagan.
  • Madonna, Sean Penn and George Harrison for the launch publicity for their film "Shanghai Surprise". Sharon Stone's London publicity shots for "Casino".
  • Photoshoots with Catherine Zete-Jones, Joan and Jackie Collins, Charlton Heston and Gregory Peck, Billy Connelly, Rolf Harris, Michael Parkinson, Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, John Inman, Tom Baker (and 2 other Doctor Whos).
  • Sir Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison. Queen and U2, The Rolling Stones, Sir Bob Geldof and Phil Collins, Live Aid and Fashion Aid.

6. Several of these assignments involved personal invitation to the homes of the stars for photo shoots in their own surroundings. Many people in the public eye are uncomfortable facing large numbers of photographers, and in such cases one or two trusted professionals may be invited, and their pictures then syndicated. (So if you choose John as your wedding photographer, it is safe to assume that he won't freeze on the day!)

7. John was also chosen to record many high profile events for the national press, including the funeral of Princess Diana, the Balkan Street Siege, and he accompanied John Major on his "Battlebus" Election Campaign.

8. Only a top class photographer is asked to cover major sporting occasions - events happen at such speed that an inexperienced cameraman can miss them. John has covered 24 Wimbledon Finals, 6 FA Cup Finals, several England Internationals at Wembley, 10 Golf "Opens", championship boxing contests (including a 1:1 photoshoot with Frank Bruno) more than a dozen Derbys, several Grand Prix at Silverstone, snooker finals at the Crucible, Sheffield...

9. John's Qualifications: Licentiate Member of the Master Photographers' Association and the British Institute of Incorporated Photographers.

10. A professional photographer's digital camera typically costs £2-£5,000. John carries 3 such cameras...

The following profile of John appeared in Bliss Magazine:

Originally a news photographer, John Dempsie has the perfect predigree for reportage or fashion-style wedding pictures.

After a news career spanning 20 years, John has been photographing weddings for over 10 years. His role is that of wedding expert, getting to know and photographing newly-wed couples.

"A couple must be comfortable with the photographer" he says. "With this in mind, I like to get to know them before the wedding, I'll often do a portrait shot of them, which gives us time to get to know each other. I also like to visit all the wedding-day locations - such as home, church or civil ceremony venue, and reception locations - to discuss possible shots with the bride and groom."

The reason for this, says John, is that today's couples are looking for something different from their wedding pictures. As well as formal posed shots they want lively pictures, full of movement, and for this they need to feel completely at ease.

"My work is very akin to fashion photography, with lots of black and white shots as well as colour, which brides really like" he says. "It gives their wedding album the feel of a magazine fashion shoot."

In addition, John is increasingly working with digital images, which means the couples can view the images as they are being shot.

"Seeing the images so immediately helps put the couples at ease, which makes the rest of the pictures even better" says John. "You know you're on the right track as soon as they've seen some they're happy with."

 

 

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