Commercial photographer St Albans | brand, product & business photography
I’m Mike Dick, a commercial photographer based in St Albans, Hertfordshire. I work with marketing managers, brand teams and business owners who need images that do a job – product shots that sell, brand photography that tells a story, and location work that makes a place look its best. If you have a brief, I want to hear it.
I also work as a corporate photographer St Albans businesses trust for headshots and team imagery, alongside events coverage for conferences, launches and business functions.
What I cover –
Product, brand, hospitality, trade and location photography
Who it’s for –
Marketing teams, agencies, SMEs and local businesses.
A designer’s eye, two decades of commercial experience.
Available across St Albans, Harpenden, Hemel Hempstead, Watford, Hertfordshire and London.
What commercial photography covers
Commercial photography is a broad term, so here’s exactly what I do.
Product photography Clean, styled product shots for e-commerce, print and social. The kind of images that make someone stop scrolling and look twice. Recent work includes charcuterie boxes for The Pink Elephant in St Albans.
Brand and hospitality photography Location shoots that capture the atmosphere, the team and the details that make a business worth visiting. I shot a full morning at Nook coffee shop in Markyate to give them everything they needed for their website launch and social channels.
Trade and fleet photography On-location work for businesses with premises, vehicles, kit or teams to show. For ABC Fencing in St Albans I covered a full day – fleet, team portraits, management headshots, all in one efficient session despite a very rainy day. The images went straight onto their new website.
Location and campaign photography Wider commissions covering multiple subjects, locations or categories. For St Albans BID I delivered 257 images across seven categories – retail, hospitality, leisure, public spaces and more, in a single commission.
What clients say…
“Mike did a fabulous job and gave us a library of great shots we are now using across the website and social media. The images have made all the difference and really make ABC Fencing look a very professional outfit.”
Jeni Peacock UpStream Marketing (for ABC Fencing, St Albans)
Personal branding photography and product photography for small businesses and creative entrepreneurs in Hertfordshire
The Pink Elephant charcuterie boxes
Ian Henderson runs The Pink Elephant, an event styling business with a bold, immediately recognisable visual identity. His charcuterie boxes carry that same sensibility: carefully assembled combinations of cured meats, artisan cheeses, seasonal fruit, olives and artichoke hearts, all packed into signature hot pink and teal branded packaging. We shot at his barn space in St Albans, covering both the product in detail and Ian in his environment, because the two together tell a story that neither can tell alone.
For any food or creative business, the product shots show what you are selling. The portraits show who you are selling it. That combination is what personal branding photography is actually for: not just a headshot for LinkedIn, but a complete set of images that connects the product to the person and gives a potential customer every reason to choose you. If you have a visual story to tell, get in touch.
If you want to read the full blog post on what it was like to photograph The Pink Elephant, click here.
What clients say…
“Would highly recommend Mike! A really approachable and collaborative photographer who did a great job and was always happy to work with me on changes to make his photography work so well for my brand. Thank you Mike.”
Ian Henderson,
The Pink Elephant, Hertfordshire
Look up London: architectural photography across the City
Most people experience London at eye level. This long-term personal project started with a simple shift: stop moving from A to B and start looking up. Shot across the City of London, the South Bank and King’s Cross, every image in the series is black and white, because removing colour strips away the visual noise of a busy city and puts the focus back where it belongs: geometry, light, shadow and structure.
The discipline of shooting this way carries directly into commercial work. Accurate verticals, considered perspective and patience with natural light are not optional when you are producing images for architects, developers or property marketing teams. Whether the brief is a contemporary glass tower or a heritage building, the objective is the same: present the architecture with clarity and precision, and make the design speak for itself. If you’re working on a development, a planning submission, or a marketing campaign and need a photographer who thinks carefully about buildings, get in touch.
If you want to read the full blog post on what it was like to photograph these incredible buildings click here.
Behind-the-scenes photography for Twelve Remain, Brighton
Twelve Remain are an alternative rock band with a new single on the way. To support the launch, they needed documentary-style stills from their music video shoot: real moments from a full day on set, not posed promotional shots.
The shoot took place in a Brighton nightclub. I was there throughout the day capturing the actors, crew and band between takes, keeping out of the way and letting the atmosphere of the location do the heavy lifting. The images were produced for PR, press, social media and web use.
This kind of work suits the way I shoot. On a busy set, the best images happen in the margins: a quiet moment in the corner, a burst of laughter between takes, the band watching playback on a monitor. You don’t get those shots by announcing yourself. You get them by being patient, staying observant, and knowing when to press the shutter.
Documentary photography for St Albans City Centre BID
St Albans BID needed a professional image library to support their 2026 Ballot submission, the vote where levy payers decide whether to renew the BID’s mandate for a third five-year term. For that kind of document, phone snapshots and stock photography don’t make the case. They needed images that showed what the BID actually does, and made it look worth funding.
The commission covered seven subject areas across the city centre: flower containers, lamppost banners, murals, seating, evening festoon lights, street scenes, and people going about their day. Shot across five sessions between late April and May, a mix of daytime and evening, the final delivery was 257 fully post-processed images exported at print and web resolution, ready to use from day one.
If you want to read the full blog post on what it was like to photograph for the St Albans BID click here.
What the client says…
“Mike recently supported us with a collection of photos that perfectly captured the vibrancy and appeal of St Albans City Centre. He listened carefully to our brief, and we would recommend him to any business.”
Alice Wiggins,
Communications and Marketing Manager, St Albans BID
Why the designer’s eye matters
I spent two decades as a graphic designer and creative lead before picking up a camera professionally. That means I think about how your images will actually be used before the shoot starts, which crops work for a website banner, which orientation suits social, which shot anchors a print layout.
You don’t have to art direct me. I come to a brief with a plan.
How a commercial shoot works
Tell me about your brief – a quick call or email is enough to get started. The more you can tell me about how you plan to use the images, the better.
We agree the shot list – I’ll put together a shoot plan based on your goals, locations and timings. No surprises on the day.
Shoot day – efficient, relaxed, focused. I work to your schedule and flag anything worth capturing that wasn't on the original list.
Delivery – images are delivered to a private online gallery. High-resolution downloads, full commercial usage rights, yours to use across website, social, print and anything else.
On location: commercial photography for local businesses
Nook coffee shop, Markyate, Hertfordshire
When Helen Renvoize was preparing to launch Nook in Markyate, she needed images that would communicate everything her coffee shop was about – the warmth, the character, and the people behind it. One morning on location delivered everything she needed for the website, social media and press.
If you want to read the full blog post on what it was like to photograph the Nook, click here.
What the client says…
“We recently had the pleasure of working with Mike, and the results were nothing short of phenomenal. His talent and professionalism shone through every step of the process, from understanding our vision to delivering photos that truly captured the heart and soul of our coffee shop.”
Helen Renvoize
Nook, Markyate
Sectors and subjects I’ve covered
Retail and independent businesses · hospitality and food/drink · trade and construction · professional services · not-for-profit and civic · product and e-commerce · workplace and premises
Ready to talk about your project?
Commercial shoots vary in scope, a two-hour product session is a very different thing to a full-day brand commission. The easiest way to get a clear idea of what’s involved and what it will cost is a quick call.
Services, packages & pricing
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Focused session
From £395
Up to two hours on location. Ideal for a product shoot, a hospitality or café shoot, a small business premises, or a single subject with supporting detail shots.
What's included:
Up to two hours on location
Up to 15 fully edited images
Private online gallery with high-resolution downloads
Full commercial usage rights
Travel within 5 miles of St Albans included
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Half-day session
From £750
Up to four hours on location. For businesses needing broader coverage across products, spaces, team and detail shots in a single efficient session.
What's included:
Individual headshots for each team member
Up to four hours on location
Up to 30 fully edited images
Private online gallery with high-resolution downloads
Full commercial usage rights
Travel within 5 miles of St Albans included
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Full-day commission
From £1,495
Up to eight hours on location. For larger briefs covering multiple subjects, locations or categories – product, premises, team and campaign imagery all in one day, all with a consistent look.
What's included:
Up to eight hours on location
Up to 60 fully edited images
Private online gallery with high-resolution downloads
Full commercial usage rights
Travel within 5 miles of St Albans included
What’s included in every session
Pre-shoot consultation A focused call to agree your goals, shot list, locations and logistics before the day. I come prepared, so nothing is left to chance and there are no surprises on shoot day.
Creative planning and shot list I put together a detailed shoot plan based on your brief – covering the subjects, angles, sequences and details that will make your images actually useful across the channels you need them for.
On-shoot direction Whether I’m directing people, products or spaces, I work efficiently and quietly. If your team or staff are involved, I’ll put them at ease and keep disruption to your working day to a minimum.
Full editing and post-production Every delivered image is fully edited and colour-corrected to a consistent standard. No raw files, no unfinished work, no extra fees for standard editing.
Private online gallery with high-resolution downloads Images are delivered to a password-protected gallery. Download in full resolution at any time, share with your marketing team, and keep the files permanently.
Full commercial usage rights Your images are yours to use across your website, social channels, print, advertising and any other commercial purpose. No licence fees, no restrictions, no annual renewals.
Travel included within 5 miles of St Albans No hidden travel costs for locations within the standard coverage area. Further afield is always possible, just ask when we speak.
Need headshots or team photography alongside your commercial shoot? I can cover both in a single session.
FAQs
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Corporate photography is primarily about people – headshots, team photos, events. Commercial photography covers a broader brief: products, premises, brand campaigns, hospitality and trade. Many clients need both, and I can cover everything in a single commission.
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Both. If you have a brief, I'll work to it. If you have a vague idea and need help shaping it, that's what the planning call is for. I've worked with brand guidelines for global financial institutions and I've turned up to a coffee shop with just a shot list and instinct. Both work.
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That depends on the scope of the shoot, which we agree in advance. I don't deliver every frame I shoot – you get a curated, edited set of images that are actually useful. Typical commercial commissions deliver between 25 and 100 images depending on the brief.
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Full commercial usage rights are included as standard. Your images are yours to use across your website, social channels, print, presentations and any other commercial purpose. No licence fees, no restrictions.
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Yes. I cover Hertfordshire and London as standard. Further afield is always possible – just ask.
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Yes, and I'm used to it. I've worked as part of larger creative teams and I'm equally comfortable being the sole supplier on a small business shoot.
How can I help you?
Tell me what you’re shooting and I’ll come back with a plan.
