A PHOTOGRAPHER who picked up no fewer than 30 prizes at a recent awards ceremony has shared his memories of starting out in the business – on the front page of the Advertiser.

Stuart Wood bought his first camera when he was only 12 years old.

When he left school aged 17, he took up a training scheme with the Advertiser, and its sister titles the Dumbarton Reporter and Clydebank Post.

And though that job wasn’t behind the camera, he soon got his big break thanks to a royal visit to Helensburgh in February 1990.

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Stuart explained: “It was an admin role, but I constantly bugged the photo department for work, advice and any jobs that they wanted doing.

“When Princess Anne came to visit it was ‘all hands on deck’ and I got a chance to go out and shoot on behalf of the paper.

“I was handed a couple of rolls of film and told to go to the Helensburgh riding school.

“I was then fortunate enough to get my shot chosen by the editor to go on the front page against all the professionals – and that’s what really got me started.”

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Stuart then went on to work for a local wedding photographer, where he learned the traditional ways of photography, and after three years of training he was given his first wedding to shoot.

In 2007, Stuart set up his own business, 1500 Photography, and has been adding awards to his collection ever since.

At the recent Scottish Master Photography Association awards, Stuart picked up 30 prizes - including the winner of the Best Complete Wedding category for the third time in his career.

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Stuart, who now lives in Old Kilpatrick, said: “Winning this is really important to me because weddings are what I do.

“You can fluke a good picture here and there but to put forward a panel-full and be crowned the winner is a massive vote of confidence.

“It demonstrates that you can produce 10 fantastic images and display them in a pleasing fashion.

“The judges for this competition are other top professional photographers, which is why I treasure winning this gong more than any other.

“Weddings are my main focus but I do anything which is reflected in the awards I’ve won.”

For more information visit 1500photography.co.uk.