About
Ashley has been working professionally since 1992. He has built on his early career in National Newspapers and Magazines to create a wealth of Corporate and Commercial clients who entrust their brand consistency and visual narrative to his creative eye and broad experience.
About Photographer Ashley Coombes:
My first job was an assistant to a well known theatrical and classical music photographer in London. I then headed to Sheffield for the NCTJ diploma in Photojournalism – a brilliant course (sadly no longer available). This course has laid down the path for so many successful photographers in the UK.
From there I was employed as a ‘sink or swim’ trainee at the fast paced News Team International in Birmingham. We worked for a diverse range of clients such as The Sun, The Mirror, The Times and the Independent to name just a few. A very steep learning curve but unique opportunity. We also did plenty of jobs for PR clients. This helped me start to understand the commercial side of being a photographer. Here I learnt that there was more to photography than just finding the story.
After Birmingham I moved back to London for my dream job on The Times. I had an incredible few years there before moving up to Scotland to help The Times beef up their Scottish offering with the opening of the Holyrood Parliament.
10 years later I quit press work to concentrate on commercial photography. A decade after that, here I am today, loving the range of clients, diversity of work and always learning. No two days are ever the same.
I now live in the Trossachs National Park with wife and kids. I work predominantly in Glasgow and Edinburgh but regularly traveling further afield in Scotland, UK and internationally.
“After working closely with Ashley over many years, I can safely say that his reputaion for high quality pictures, combined with efficiency and reliability is second to none. I would not hesitate to use him for any job – however challenging!”
Magnus Linklater, Scotland Editor, The Times
Epic Scotland Ltd is the company name for Commercial Portrait Photographer Ashley Coombes.