Photography News | Issue 39 | absolutephoto.com
19
Interview
Written by James Abbott Racing start Pro focus From work experience with the press to editorial car photography, and from Formula 1 to advertising, Dom Romney has done it all. And he’s still only 26!
How do you go from work experience on the local newspaper to shooting high-end automotive advertising campaigns in just eight years?Making a successful career in photography relies on a lot of hard work, great images, being nice and having a sprinkle of good luck. In photography, being a great photographer isn’t always enough. Dom Romney has an incredible portfolio that has been developed over four distinct periods: press, editorial motor sport, Formula 1 and most recently, automotive advertising. And for each of these he’s certainly made his mark. Going back a few years, his introduction to photography came when he attended drag racing eventswithhis dad.While his dad was working on the cars he would give Dom his camera to go off and shoot images tokeephimself busy. The interest in cars and motor sport was in his blood and it wasn’t long before the photography bug had bitten, too. After leaving school Dom went on to work on the Lincolnshire Echo , where he completed his NCTJ at 18 and continued to work for papers, before taking on agency work in London. However, the industry was shrinking and Dom realised it wasn’t for him, so moved back home to work out what was next. Itwasatthisstagethatphotography changed gear for Dom, and he began
to see what kind of photographer he wanted to be much more clearly. The idea that you should shoot what you love couldn’t ring truer. So with no job and little money, “I’d go and hang out with my friends who were involved in motor sport and would take a camera because I enjoy taking pictures. They would say, ‘I need an image because a newspaper is doing an article on me, canI put you in touchwith them?’And I’d say ‘yeah, fine’, and it just grew to the point where I knew this was what Iwanted to do.” He continues, “I’d then approach magazines myself and say, ‘I’ll be at an event, can I shoot for you?’. They’d have three or four people taking pictures for them and would say, ‘See what you can get, if it’s any good we’ll use it.’ So where everyone else was doing the usual car on a corner, bog- standard kind of stuff, I knew I had to do something different otherwise my workwouldn’t getprinted.”Headds, “I needed to make some money; I didn’t want to live at home with my mother so I had to find that different angle to make my work more interesting and stand out. I’d end up getting the opening image in magazine features and it just went fromthere.” With a healthy amount of sports editorial work coming in Dom was beginning tomake a name for himself, but rather than carry on as he was
Above Chris Hartnell launches off the line from Shakespeare County Raceway in his nostalgia slingshot dragster, Stratford-upon-Avon. Left AdamGleadow performs a fire burnout at Santa Pod Raceway, Wellingborough.
he decided to shoot Formula 1. The only problemwas F1 is a closed world where accreditation is often next to impossible, not to mention the sheer number of talented motor sport photographers fighting to get a foot in the door... “F1 came through the friend of a friend,” says Dom, a contact made during a sports event where a group of photographers, including Dom, shared a house to keep costs down. He explains how in this environment you have to get on with the people you’re sharing with, and more often than not
become friends. Domstronglybelieves that relationships and being a nice person are two of the most important aspects of being a photographer. So after being passed along a line of contacts of contacts, Dom finally had a meeting with an agency one day, and was on the plane to theMonacoGrand Prix the next. You can read more on Dom’s story in the latest issue of Professional Photo , and check out his portfolio at domromney.com
Photo Professional
This article first appeared in issue 126 of Professional Photo , on sale now. It’s packed with inspiring images and tips for aspiring pros and those already making a living. absolutephoto.com
You’ll findmore insight in the latest Professional Photo – the UK’s best magazine for full-time and aspiring pro photographers
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