Hi, my name is Paul Groom, I’m a Bristol Photographer and Videographer, for almost twenty years I’ve been working in and around the Bristol area and beyond. My clients trust me to provide professional, bright, exciting imagery so their social media, websites, brochures and annual reports shine.
My photography work includes: portrait photography, PR & editorial, corporate events, TV & Film, industrial, studio work, and architectural and interiors / office shoots, to both corporate and private clients.
I pride myself on being very easy to work with, friendly and can give as much input as required or can also work to a strict brief.
My video work includes interviews, auto-cue assisted announcements, tailored corporate videos with titles and music, social media campaigns, promos and more… see my showreel on the dedicated Bristol Videographer page.
Looking for photographers in Bristol? Please get in touch to discuss your photography or video needs further. As well as being a trusted Bristol photographer and videographer, I can cover any area for you, have a look at the ‘Areas’ menu item for more information on some of my regular locations.
NEW SECTION!
See below for my NEW tips & tricks section to help you improve your photography skills!
Clients include: Channel 4 • Burges Salmon • Parkinson’s UK • National Grid • SHS • Blue Cedar • Future Publishing • NHS • PWC • SpeechyAI
Creative portraiture for magazines
Striking architectural shots
Customer case study sessions
Quality, eye catching staff portraits
Commercial event photography
Pin sharp studio photography
Dynamic industrial scenes
Group photo of your company
Show home photography
Progress photography
PR photo sessions
Annual review publication shoots
Bristol City Centre
Bradley Stoke
Aztec West
Clevedon
Wotton-under-Edge
Thornbury
Tetbury
Stroud
Weston-super-Mare
Chew Magna
Charfield
Nailsea
Long Ashton
Kingswood
Two person interviews
Promotional videos
Corporate videos
To-camera interviews
Presentations with auto-cue
Branded commercials
Office walk throughs
Show home promos
Social media ads and announcements
Law firm legal advice shorts
Construction progress coverage
Short burst teaser campaigns
I often get asked for advice on how people can improve their photography, so I thought I’d add a section on the website to help, in case this is helpful.
Recently I was asked by PhotoPlus magazine to accompany an amateur photographer around Bristol city centre to photograph striking photos of the city after dark. The resulting photos made up a 12 page feature in PhotoPlus magazine. We started by overlooking the iconic Bristol Harvey Nicholls building (on the edge of Cabot Circus), then we moved onto the quirky bendy bridge from Finzels Reach to Castle Park by the water, then we finished by looking across the Horn Bridge to Millennium Square with the lit up wheel, with Za Za Bazaar.
Tips & Tricks
Night photography takes a certain discipline, as automatic settings will give you blurry and disappointing results. In the following tips and tricks I talk about how best to approach your night photography, when to go, what equipment to take with you, the best settings to use and a mention of personal safety, too.
1. Timing
It’s worth arriving at your location in good time, even up to an hour before sunset to get in position and to make sure you’ve put the correct settings on the camera, ready to capture the magic blue hour when there’s amazing blue colours in the sky, this blue colour quickly turns into night with much darker skies.
2. Vibrations
Watch out for vibrations caused by passing traffic if you’re using a long shutter speed, it might even be pedestrians if you’re on a footbridge, make sure the tripod is on solid ground with rubber feet.
3. Tripod and timers
It’s very easy to introduce blur to your photos when you press the shutter button so if you don’t have a remote shutter release cable, use the 2 or 10 second self-timer drive mode on your camera, so you don’t add blur in shots as you press the button.
4. Depth of field
Consider how much of the picture you want to be in focus when you’re about to press the shutter, which f-stop would suit the scene? If you want everything sharp, use an aperture such as f/8 or f/11, and focus on something in the middle distance to get optimum sharpness front and back.
5. Using Live View and Zoom
In Live View preview mode, zoom in on the screen as close as possible to check focus. You may have to change the AF points to achieve this, on Canon cameras you have to switch off eye or face Tracking AF when photographing at night.
6. Which lens to use?
Try the obvious lens choice, such as a wide-angle 17-40mm (full-frame) or standard 50mm, but then challenge yourself to be creative – what different feels can you achieve from the scene? Sometimes after the shoot you will think of other ideas which could’ve worked so make a point of writing them down ready for next time.
7. Check your shots
Regularly check the sharpness of your photos at full zoom on the back screen, mostly to make sure the shutter speed, ISO or aperture is working as you’d hoped. Sometimes, if you’re using a zoom lens, simply turning the barrel and therefore the distance it is zoomed in to can throw off your focus, and can catch you out. Re-check the live view at 100% to make sure it hasn’t roamed.
8. Keep an eye on lines and angles
When taking architectural photos, it’s important that buildings are straight and level (if you want straight photos, that is!), so have a look at the spirit level on your tripod and/or camera screen, and adjust your tripod head and legs as necessary.
9. Road safety
Never get too close to the road or edge of the pavement – it’s easy to lose yourself in your creativity and forget about safety.
10. Bulb mode
Use the Bulb setting for exposures over 30 seconds – you can then capture more densely packed traffic light trails. You’ll need a remote release to start/stop the exposure. Also use a 3-stop ND filter and extend exposures from 30 seconds to four minutes!
Hope you’ve enjoyed these tips, let me know of anything else you’d like me to feature next time!
If you would like me to provide some photography or videography tips for your website then please send an email with your details.
I have been a full time Bristol professional photographer since 2005, serving corporate and private clients throughout the South West, Cotswolds, Gloucestershire and beyond. I'm skilled in Photoshop, Premiere Pro and Indesign and studied Graphic Design at university. I can take on your editing needs, whether it's on photography/video commissioned through the company or helping out on other projects.
Corporate & creative videos, whatever your need, in beautiful HD, 4K and 8K output. Studio quality sound recording with auto-cue facility and professional lighting. Either at your location or at a choice of local studios.
No need to hire extra equipment for most jobs. Using superb 45 & 32 megapixel cameras and a whole host of lenses, lighting, lapel mics, auto-cue equipment, gimbals and field monitors, I can take on any photography or video commission.
Using high level professional photography and video editing software, I can edit videos created by the company or other footage you need working on. You can add logos, titles, text and any other graphics you need.
Paul Groom Photography did a superb job for my promo shots and CD pictures, as an art director myself I have worked with plenty of photographers and Paul’s relaxed approach made me feel at ease in a fairly stressful situation. I can highly recommend his company and the results speak for themselves.
Jason Titley, Bluegrass Recording Artist
We always get Paul to take all of the photos for our company and are always ecstatic with the results. He always delivers fantastic photography and would highly recommend him to anyone needing good quality photography!
Isabel Sturgess, Urban Creation
I have commissioned Paul a number of times and have always been really happy with his work. Paul has a relaxed style which really helps to put people at ease and this shows in the work that he has done for me. I am happy to put my money where my mouth is – I have an upcoming booking with Paul!
Chris Coles
Great photos, really kind patient and understanding approach, super communication before and after photos. A+
Sam C, Family Session
We needed some work phots taken and paul was great, he arrived well on time, was setup and taking photos quickly, scoped out just what we wanted and delivered amazing photo’s – even those that were terrified of the camera were put at ease.
Fully recommend Paul.
Tom, Your E-Commerce Accountant
I’ve made a page of my firsts and favourites including favourite photo, painting and various photographers etc which I love.