A lot of stuff is shot vertical now, shot for the doom scroll and cropped to fit.
Nice to be briefed to shoot a few in landscape instead.
Because Scotland’s golf coast doesn’t belong in a narrow frame: big skies, long horizons, weather rolling through in real time.
📷 for @manorsgolf , seen properly.
Everyone sees the finished film. This is the bit that matters… One afternoon turnaround, no chaos, fast isn’t rushed, It’s prepared.
🎬 @1457club for @sunderlandofscotland x @keeks.golf
“Clients care about specs and better kit”… no actually clients care about calm, clarity and decent results… having expensive, fancy lenses isn’t always needed.
Plenty of cups of tea in Yorkshire - BTS from our latest shoot for @ontheroadwithiona and the legend Billy Foster. 3 camera setup, drone, stills package long form episode and cutdowns. 👌
🎬 @1457club
🎥🎥🎥 @jakeheyes@alexgretton@ollixe
1. It doesn’t start with travel, it starts with a few years of saying yes to everything.
Before the flights and cool locations, there were plenty of unpaid shoots, cold miserable mornings, long drives (there’s still long drives), learning on the job, getting things wrong and figuring things out without a roadmap. Travel came after trust.
2. Most of the actual work happens when no one’s watching.
Editing wherever you can. Fixing problems no one ever sees. The freedom people imagine is built on discipline and consistency.
3. It’s not “creative freedom” all the time… it’s responsibility.
When you’re self-employed, every mistake is yours. Every small win too. You’re the producer, director, editor, accountant, and problem-solver. Often all in the same day.
4. You don’t just shoot at cool places, you earn access to them.
Iconic courses, hotels, brands, locations are not handed to you. Those shoots come from reputation, relationships, not being cocky and showing up professionally every single time…
5. Stability looks different when you build it yourself.
There’s no monthly salary. No HR. No safety net. Stability comes from diversifying, building long-term relationships, and learning how to run a real business, not just take cool shots or cool edits.
6. People think it’s glamorous. It’s usually freezing, stressful, and a lot of shooting under pressure with a lot of people’s time and money sitting on a flimsy SD card.
Wind, rain, tight schedules, clients watching, one chance to get the shot. You learn to perform under pressure or you’re out.
7. Saying no is as important as saying yes.
Not every job fits. Not every opportunity is worth it. Protecting your time, energy, and creative direction is part of surviving long-term. If everyone else is shooting it, it’s probably not worth doing.
8. Travel doesn’t mean escape.
Every trip has a purpose, a brief, a deliverable. I can’t count the amount of times I’ve been somewhere exotic or exciting but only seen a hotel and the shoot location.
9. There’s no shortcut but there is a path.
Skills can be learned. A style comes naturally. Confidence comes from experience. Most people quit before it all compounds together.
Shot this for @short.side on his Off Track trip around Scotland. A few mates, a couple of vans, and a run of lesser-known courses that don’t get shouted about enough.
I made a series of campaign films from the trip, this one pulling it all together. Simple golf, decent folk, and courses worth travelling for.
