What I do
Thanks for visiting my site. I’m a London based professional photographer, and my work involves the arts and the people behind them.
Growing up, I didn’t know whether I wanted to make a career of taking pictures or making music. So I worked hard at both, and by the time I finally picked photography I’d also put in thousands of hours singing, conducting, preparing concerts, studying scores, as well as hanging around the stage in other roles. So I’ve seen first hand just how much time and expertise people put into refining their skills, preparing performances and creating mesmerising experiences for their audiences.
That’s what inspires my work as a photographer. My goal is to help people build the profile they need to keep on sharing their passions and ideas with the world. Whether I’m making portraits in the studio or capturing images live in performance, I’m always seeking the perfect moment, pose or expression to convey talent at work.
If you’d like to know more or have something upcoming you’d like to work with me on, please get in touch.
A bit of history
My grandfathers and my great uncle brought me to photography. They were never professionals themselves but were all mechanically minded and enjoyed the technical proficiency required from their hobby. My grandfather furnished me with my first camera, my great uncle donated one of his books to me, and my largely self-taught journey through photography started there.
I kept it as a hobby until I emerged from university with a degree in music, wondering if there might be a better direction for me to head in. While working in marketing I fixed my sights firmly on being a photographer and took that terrifying first step of resigning my salaried job age 27.
Like many photographers, I love the magic of using a camera to freeze a moment in time in the most pleasing way possible. But alongside that, for me photography is a way to stay on my feet – to meet people, go places and experience things that I might otherwise have missed. For me photography is where curiosity and creativity meets.
Today my work takes in a mixture of portrait photography and capturing the creative industries and performing arts in action. To see more of my recent work I’m on Instagram @mdgascoigne and LinkedIn.
Organisations I’ve worked with include:
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment • Philharmonia Orchestra • BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal • London Chamber Orchestra • Dulwich Picture Gallery • The King’s Singers • Purcell Choir • London Mozart Players • St Martin-in-the-Fields • DEBUT Classical • ChamberStudio • British Youth Opera • National Youth Opera • Opera Makers • OperaUpClose • Cambridge Music Festival • Brandenburg Choral Festival • Islington Festival of Music and Art • Act IV • National Centre for Circus Arts • National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain • Lambeth Palace • Museum of Music History • Independent Society of Musicians and more.