Meet Matthew

I’m writing to you from our garden on an unusually hot summer’s afternoon.  It’s a typical example of a modern build afterthought – a small patch of grass to hide the rubble buried beneath – but it’s become one of my favourite areas of our home.  It’s a place for water fights, late afternoon picnics, and snow angels.

But this year, we planted our first kitchen garden.  It was a project that had humble beginnings as a herb bed, a little place to grow some of the food that we eat.  It wasn’t long before the herbs were joined by summer salad, beetroot and purple carrots (who doesn’t like purple food?!), strawberries for the children and a small teepee of sweet peas.

By now, you’re probably wondering why I’m telling you this.  In it’s own way, this little patch represents the core strands of my photography business: family and food. Although the kitchen garden was my project, it quickly became something that my children wanted to help with: they’ve planted seeds, watered and weeded.  It’s one of the things that makes our family special to us.  Just like making sourdough with my little boy and ice cream with my little girl.

Food brings us together.  We celebrate with food.  We meet at the end of the day over food.

I run my business with my wife, Carole, from our home in the small village of Trentham in Staffordshire.  It’s a lovely place to raise our young children, and we’re only a few minutes from some of the prettiest countryside in the county; perfect locations for my family portrait sessions.  There is also a vibrant farming and food community that often features in my work, but I’ve also had the pleasure of shooting businesses throughout the UK: from the bustling streets of Borough Market all the way to the quiet countryside of the Lake District.

But what I’m most inspired by is the stories behind the people I’m with.  The parents that choose the park where they had their first date for their family shoot.  The child that brings a toy given by a late grandparent.  The couple celebrating their love in a pottery museum.  The chef creating dishes inspired by the view from their window.

We’ve all got a story waiting to be told.  I can’t wait to tell yours.

When Matt’s not shooting, you’ll find him…

by Carole

Enjoying a good coffee

…and listening to Coldplay (far too much!)

Browsing the shelves

…of our local book store for a good thriller or the latest issue of Delicious.

Tickling our children

…and letting them climb (and bounce!) all over him.

Tending his kitchen garden

…and getting excited by how good everything smells.

Stirring a jar of sourdough starter

…that he keeps in his office.  It really is his third child.

Kind Words

Beautifully Natural

I seriously cannot thank Matthew enough for capturing my baby bump.

His work is always so beautifully natural and he always respects what you as a customer has in mind.  I can’t wait to look back at these pictures when my baby is born and relive how special I felt, this is all thanks to Matthew and the memories he has photographed that I will cherish for life.

Matthew captures life in a photograph and this is why I would highly recommend him to anyone. Thank you once again!

Meg Bradbury

True Beauty

We love the collection of photographs that Matthew has created for us! The service we have received has been professional and organised from the very beginning.  His photographs brought our restaurant to life, and showed us the true beauty of what we have created.

We would definitely recommend Matthew, and hopefully we will do business with him again.

Sophie Hardman & Jake Lowndes (Little Seeds Bar & Kitchen)

Something Very Special

Matt recently took some new family portraits for us, and to say we’re thrilled is an understatement!

The session itself was really fun – Matt had planned some great activities to show us bonding as a family and this gave the whole session a very natural and relaxed feel. We had lots of laughs along the way! When we saw the resulting images, they were absolutely magical, and brought a tear to our eyes! We will certainly treasure these for years to come, and we can’t wait to get them on our wall, although I’ve no idea how we’re going to choose which ones!

Thank you Matt, from the bottom of our hearts – you have truly given us something very special! x

Jade Anstiss

Reflect My Work Perfectly

Working with Matthew was a great experience, he was extremely organised and knowledgeable about the kind of images I was looking to get for my business. I absolutely love the finished pictures, they reflect my work perfectly and are so much more than I imagined they would be.

I couldn’t have asked for anything better and I will be using Matthew for any work I need photographing in the future!

Beth Lauren (Beth Lauren Cakes)

The Essence of my Children

The photographs Matthew has captured of my two young children are without any doubt my most prized photographs. As anyone with young children can appreciate taking a photograph that really captures your child’s true personality is a rarity but it seems something that Matthew can do with ease. I have such fantastic photographs that have truly captured the essence of my children’s cheeky characters.

Matthew had obviously spent a considerable amount of time planning our portrait session. The numerous props, advise on clothing really paid off when I look at my stunning photos following. They literally reduced me to tears.

For anyone considering a family photo shoot I cannot recommend Matthew highly enough. My advice though is to get the tissues ready for the viewing and set aside a considerable amount of time to select the ones you want. It is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make!

 Jo Cookson

Friendly and Thorough

Matthew had a long, complex and busy day photographing our range of British cured meats for use in our marketing and also for use on our own e-shop and e-commerce partner sites in both ‘lifestyle’ and ‘cut out’ formats. We are extremely pleased with the results and Matthew proved very easy to work with through planning and executing the day.

I would have no hesitation in recommending Matthew both in terms of the photography and in his direct, friendly and thorough approach to arranging the details of the shoot and ascertaining and delivering on the desired outcomes.

Sean Cannon (Cannon & Cannon)

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FamilyFood

Matthew Owen

Matthew Owen is a freelance food photographer known for creating beautiful, authentic images for marketing, digital and magazines.  He is based in North Staffordshire and is ideally placed to work with clients in Cheshire, Shropshire, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Leicester, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and London.

How to Reach Me

Office Hours

Monday - Friday: 10am - 5pm
Weekends: Closed