Neil Buchan Grant - Bio

I'm a unit stills photographer living in Cheltenham and working in London, Bristol, across the UK and overseas


Testimonials

Quote (unit stills) "Perfection! - We were filming all over London for one month. Neil made perfect photos, all of them impeccable, interesting, beautiful and useful for us. I couldn’t have asked for someone better"...Elena Conte producer of Tales of Babylon (Ealing Productions)

Quote (unit stills) “Neil understands the bigger picture - he knows which scenes/actions have the best marketing potential. With his clear communication, he worked seamlessly in the background and captured superb stills”...Matthew Steggles producer of Distressing Images (Blue Cedar Productions)

Quote (unit stills) "Neil took some amazing photos of Joyce and some beautiful atmospheric photos, I love them and can't wait to share them!"....Anette Martinsen producer of Joyce

Quote  ("Behind the Catwalk" solo exhibition)  “Great to see a gently lit unobtrusive approach to fashion, illustrating the back stage scene so eloquently…”.......Ian Berry, Magnum Photos 


Unit Stills: I am committed to making strong images that help each project be seen in its own particular style. I go above and beyond what’s expected, delivering producers and publicists a rich portfolio of images for promoting and documenting projects. My photographs also honour the filmmaking process and the people involved, which I do with respect for crew and cast boundaries and an ability to blend into the fabric of a set.

Key Art / Gallery Shoots: I can create key art for your publicity needs. I have a versatile and mobile strobe setup with stands, backdrops and modifiers. My mobile editing studio (big van) can be useful on extended location shoots for daily edits and speedy file delivery


Background: I started out as an editorial travel photographer working across Europe for one of the world's leading travel publishers. This led to working as a brand ambassador with Olympus Cameras who commissioned me to create fashion stills in New York, Portugal, Hungary and Cuba. My work won many awards including British Travel Press Photographer of the Year. After a further 5 years teaching photography workshops  in locations such as Russia, Vietnam and India, I started working with theatre groups. After a period of re-training with stills veteran Nicola Dove (No Time to Die) I started working on film sets. Across most of my career I have contributed to Getty Images


Location: The Cotswolds offer great access to London, Bristol or Birmingham but I'm very happy to work anywhere including overseas

COVID: I'm triple vaxed, boosted and test regularly 

Photographic Influences: Lillian Bassman, Saul Leiter, Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, W Eugene Smith

Terms: My day rate remains flexible depending on the project and I sometimes work for selected charities but in general, I do not work for free


RECENT FILM CREDITS 

Tales of Babylon 

The Experiment

Distressing Images

Joyce

Night Shift

Spoonmaker 

35mm 

The Cobbler 

Daydream



AWARDS WON OUTRIGHT

British Travel Press Photographer of the Year 


AOP Open


Independent on Sunday / Travel Photographer of the Year 


EXHIBITIONS

"India", at the Art Bermondsey Project Space Gallery, London 2016 - (Solo Show)

Portrait Salon, at the RPS Stronghold Gallery in Tokyo 2016 (group show)

"Behind The Catwalk" The Link Gallery, Winchester University 2015  - (Solo Show)

Portrait Salon 2015 - London (group show)

Royal Geographical Society 2015 (TPOTY awards - group show)

Oberstdorf Photo Summit 2015 (Olympus Group Show)

Louvre Paris 2015 (Exposure Awards group show - projected)

Royal Geographical Society 2014 (TPOTY awards - group show)

AOP Awards, The Truman Brewery, London (group show)

Vejer de la Frontera 2009 (solo - just one night in a room above a bar, but a lot of fun!)

BOOKS

Insight Guides: Sicily
Berlitz: Slovenia
Berlitz: Italian Lakes
Berlitz: Genoa and the Ligurian Coast
Berlitz: Lanzarote and Fuerteventura
Insight Guides: Travel Photography
Self Published: European Landscapes
Self Published: Costa de la Luz
Self Published: The Dogs of Cheltenham

CLIENTS

Smart Design (New York + London)
Berlitz
Insight Guides
Royal Festival Hall / Southbank Centre
TG Ski
Olympus Cameras
Lastminute.com
McCormick & Smith Architects
Hemingway Design
Dante or Die Theatre Company
CDB Resorts Portugal
Canon Cameras Europe
Oceania Cruises Florida
Vejer Properties Spain

MAGAZINES

Kuoni Explorer
Photo Professional
Amateur Photographer
Olympus Magazine
Photography News
Digital Camera
Photo Plus
La Luz Publishing
MND (Motor Neurone Disease) Thumbprint

WORKSHOPS  I'VE RUN

KUONI Phototour of Russia

KUONI Phototour of India

KUONI Phototour of Vietnam & Cambodia

Joint workshops with Steve Gosling in Venice and Berlin

Insight Travel Photography Masterclass, Stamfords, Covent Garden, London

Olympus Presentation, The Photography Show

Olympus Presentation, Focus on Imaging

'Be Creative' workshop, exhibition and seminar in Sibiu, Romania

Various workshops and masterclasses for Olympus, Insight Guides, KUONI, Lastminute.com and private clients (tutoring over 250 photographers to date)

Using Format