Shane Miller named MPA Master Photographer of the Year

Just six years ago Shane Miller was restoring vintage cars. Now, as a full-time professional wedding and portrait photographer, he has done the almost impossible by beating all other Master Photographers in the UK to the title of 'Master Photographer of the Year'.

Shane couldn't believe his ears when the announcement was made recently at the MPA's AGM and Awards ceremony in Coventry: "It was a massive shock. Even now it's hard to believe," he said.

The winning image is a blue-toned shot of a groom kissing the bride's neck and is typical of the contemporary approach Shane has to his work. "I started out shooting 'classical' images, but soon realised that brides wanted something different," he commented.

Much of Shane's inspiration has come from just one photographer, Gordon McGowan, when Shane saw him lecturing at Photography Training Overseas (PTO) two years ago. "Gordon has had a big influence on the way I work and my attitude to wedding photography," admits Shane.

Although he still shoots weddings on conventional film (Fujifilm NPH for colour and Fujifilm Neopan for black and white), Shane has moved over to digital for his portraiture, using a Fuji S2 Pro system. "Without doubt it has massively changed the portrait side of the business," he explained. "However, you still need to create great images no matter what sort of camera you use."

Shane's weddings are shot hand-held on a Nikon 35mm camera - and he rarely uses flash; a technique that would have been frowned upon by many professionals just a few years ago. He stopped using medium format two years ago, though he has no plans to shoot weddings digitally just yet.

In addition to the overall win, Shane picked up a free trip to next year's PTO in Tunisia and scooped the Denis Hylander wedding award in the same competition.

As for the future, Shane says he intends to "create fantastic images".