+44 (0)7849 385 331

darren@darrenwoolway.co.uk

AUTOMOTIVE & COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER

ABOUT ME – 

A commercial photographer based just South of London on the Isle of Sheppey, who loves to dive, fish & travel.

I haven’t yet conquered every continent or dived in every sea but with my love of photography each year the world becomes smaller. I have never been able to paint with a paint brush, nor sketch the perfect face but understanding the properties of light has allowed me to paint with light and create beautiful images of today’s motoring icons. I believe that through collaboration a much bigger and better story can be told, this is emphasised by the passion and love I have for photography; it makes me who I am. I look forward to meeting you, having some fun and creating something together that will inspire others.

Darren Woolway ARPS, AMPA, Ba(Hons): Automotive, Car and Still Life Product Photographer

I was born on the 12th June 1985 at All Saints Hospital, Chatham, Kent, UK. The hospital no longer exists and now stands on the site a new housing development. Born of mother Tina Woolway (Baker) and Glen Woolway I am one of three. Paul is my identical twin brother, he is 3 minutes older than me and Stewart is my younger brother with 4 years between us.

We had a happy childhood and studied at local schools including Glencoe Infants and Juniors, I then went onto Chatham South whilst my twin went to Chatham Grammar. Following my GCSE’s I went to study A-levels at Mid Kent College before moving on to study a degree in Garden Design at Hadlow College, part of the University of Greenwich. I later returned as a mature student after working in the industry for a while to gain a formal degree in photography, studying at Ravensbourne College in London I gained a 1st Class Honours in Digital Photography Ba(Hons).

From Hobby to Profession

Back in 2003 I was studying for a degree in Garden Design when another student showed me some images from his DSLR camera -they were amazing -pin sharp and had lots of detail. Back then the best camera I had was a 1 mega-pixel compact; and to tell if a plant leaf had one or two stripes on it, was near on impossible. This was the start of my passion for photography; I quickly bought a model similar to my friend, a Canon 350D and so my journey began. Whilst studying garden design, I was working part time as a model represented by MWM-UK, True Model Media and Fresh Agents Ltd. Each photographer I worked with, I would ask them to explain a bit more about photography, allowing me to quickly get to grips with it. I will always remember the look on people’s faces when I told them what camera I had used to take my photos. Their response was always “No way did you take that on a 350D!” as they say, you can have all the kit and no idea or you can learn to use the kit to the best you can to maximise the results. I had great fun once I had learnt the basics; I practiced by getting together with other models that I’d met at shoots or events to photograph them. Following on from Garden Design, I went to work on Royal Caribbean’s “The Liberty of the Seas” as a cruise ship photographer, this taught me many skills and gave me an appreciation for the hard work and dedication people have towards their careers. When I returned, I continued to cover events, weddings and portrait sessions part time and a bit of teaching photography privately but went to work full time in a school as a web and graphic designer. Being stuck at the desk all day wasn’t the same as interacting with people and I had the urge to push into full time photography once again. In October 2012 I decided that to give myself the time to refine my photography, find my specialism and build industry contacts; it was a good idea to go back to university and study a degree in photography. It has done exactly that, I graduated with a first class degree in Digital Photography, a commercial photography based course from Ravensbourne College in the summer of 2015 with my graduation ceremony on the 24th November 2015.

Since leaving University I started working for a few magazines as one of their car photographers; these included Porsche 911, Classic Ford Magazine, American Car Magazine, Custom Car Magazine, Performance Vauxhall Magazine and Retro Cars Magazine. Although photographing these beautiful classic cars and modified wonders is great fun; my passion really lies in advertising.

As magazines started to die off I found myself with plenty of spare time over the winter months and decided to set up an tropical aquatic pet shop just before Covid hit. The idea was to do something else I loved but could train others to look after whilst I went off and photographed cars. The business did really despite Covid but took a downturn when the cost of living forced most of my customers to turn off their aquariums, followed by a major road closure stopping people from easily accessing the island where the shop was.

I decided in July 2023 to close the shops down, and to concentrate back on what I love most, Photography. But my return to the industry needed to help bridge a skills gap. As more and more work these days relies around having several skills including video, I felt this is something that I needed to work on. In January 2024 I joined Gigglepin Racing as their Head of Media, I am currently working for them full time covering events all across Europe, in January we raced in LA and in December we will be travelling to Malaysia. In this current roll I am creating more video content which can be viewed on my Video page, as well as photographing more cars in action (racing) of which I had done little of in the past, along with handling the social media, web and graphic design. It is a very exciting roll and a great stepping stone for my career.

Why choose me?

Why not? I am a fun individual to work with, have great industry contacts to get the job done efficiently, on time and to budget, have a ton of ideas and I’m genuinely a nice guy. I started car photography as a hobby, which has become a passion and now I want to share that passion with you. Feel free to connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, even LinkedIn if you are inclined or call me for a friendly, non pushy chat. “Photography for me is a passion, not a job”. “Photography for me is a passion, not a job”

What do I do with my spare time?

I like to give back to the photographic community the same way in which they have helped me. I regularly visit camera clubs to give talks and judge competitions as well as mentor members who are looking at entering for a Royal Photographic Society distinction. I am a Premier photographic judge for both the Kent County Photographic Association and the The Federation of South London Photographic Societies.

When I get some free time I enjoy fishing; there is nothing better than winding down next to a lake as the mist is rising across it early morning, with nothing else to think about or concentrate on except for the end of the rod tip or the float bobbing in the water. 

Why automotive?

Having been brought up with motors since an early age, I guess automotive photography comes naturally to me. My dad worked as a mechanic ever since he left school, leading into becoming a driving instructor and then a Director of Bourne Road Mazda for over 25 years. Although the mechanics of a car never really interested me, the design and shape of the body and interior did. It was that appreciation of the design that led me to photograph cars, the challenge of how can I light this car to make it look beautiful? Where can I take it so the surroundings compliment its character? By photographing cars, I feel I am able to take an object that is already beautiful and enhance that beauty to its fullest.

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