 From factory night shifts to fashion shoots
Steve Howdle ABIPP works with Babyliss Pro and other internationally recognised companies as well as celebrity hairdressers such as Patrick Cameron. Most of his images are used for advertising in magazines and brochures. Last year, his work was used on four different exhibition stands at the prestigious trade show, Salon International.
His life couldn't be more different from the one he left behind in the late 1990s when he took voluntary redundancy from the factory where he worked night shifts as an electrician. He had been a keen amateur photographer for a long time and the redundancy offer came along whilst he was studying for a HNC in photography.
Steve readily admits that he didn't have a clue about how to set himself up as a professional photographer or even what kind of photographer he wanted to be - he just wanted to take pictures. Luckily a friend asked him to help out with a shoot in the local Toni & Guy hair salon "It was a fabulous day because I had no preconceived ideas - the client just needed pictures of hair.
Steve gained his Licentiateship in 1999 and won Fashion Photographer of the Year for the Yorkshire region three times. "I started to think that maybe I could do it, but there was still no work around" Steve recalls. Steve took out a half page advert in Salon Business magazine knowing that if they didn't pay off, he would go bust. Fortunately they did bring in some work and his business has gone from strength to strength.
Steve has now set up a new company 'i 4 colour' with a business partner who owns a gallery. The new company is a printing company specialising in output for display work and fine art work: "Although we primarily set the company up to produce our own work, my display and his artists' work, we have started to build up a separate client base of artists and fine art photographers that need small runs of work. This year will see the launch of 'Canvas Express' ,an online system for printing on demand services, which will also include galleries of artists' work whom we will be representing".
Visit www.thorntonhowdle.com
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