A life behind the lens, Teesdale Mercury

A life behind the lens

Mar 2, 2010

THERE can’t be many wedding photographers who learned their trade taking pictures of crime scenes as a police forensics expert.

But that is the unusual career path taken by Trevor Lewis from Cockfield.

Now the national chairman of the Master Photographer’s Association (MPA), Mr Lewis began to take photographs professionally during his 30 years with Durham Constabulary.

Originally from a Romaldkirk farming family, Mr Lewis joined the force and walked the beat for ten years in Sunderland, Jarrow and Barnard Castle.

He spent the next decade with the unenviable job of dealing with fatal road collisions as part of the county Accident Investigation Unit.

For the final ten years of his police career, Mr Lewis was a crime scene instructor at the training centre at Harperley Hall, where he specialised in forensic photography.

He said the work of the forensic investigator is based on the ‘Lockhart Principle’, which states that whenever there is contact between two objects, there is a transfer of material between them.

“Wherever we go, we leave trace behind,” said Mr Lewis.  “It is just a matter of finding it, but that’s the difficult part.

“The forensic photographer is the first on a crime scene to record it before it is disturbed.”

This brought him into regular contact with the kind of sights that the rest of us spend a lifetime trying to avoid (he also photographed autopsies).

He said the most unpleasant job he had to do was working deep underground after a fatal accident in a North East colliery.

“We are trained to do it and it is something that you do get used to,” he said. “It’s just a job.”

At Harperley Hall, he trained officers from forces across the UK and across the globe.

“It is a world renowned centre of scientific excellence,” he said. “It was nice to see people come out of there starting out on what could be a good career for them.”

When he left the force, (with five Chief Constable commendations and one from the High Court for his forensic work) he ran his own photography business, offering wedding, commercial and legal services throughout the North East.

In 1999, he was elected as the chairman of the MPA, the representative body for 2000 professional photographers in the UK and overseas.

“Our members are full-time and fully-qualified and we look after their professional interests,” he said. “And promote the professional image of photographers.”

While with the MPA, he has been instrumental in developing national standards and qualifications for professional photography, and continues in an advisory role to the UK Skills Council.

He spends much of his time with the MPA’s mediation service, solving disputes that often involve less-than-happy newlyweds.

“I sometimes have to deal with some very angry brides, but we usually get through it,” he said.

“It is about bringing the two parties together and trying to achieve a sensible resolution.”

While he said the “worst-case scenario” is a photographer failing to turn up to a wedding, many disputes concern the style of photographs.

“Each photographer is different and has their own style, so it is important to pick the right photographer,” he said. “And that is where a lot of complaints come from – the style and not the quality.

“People should be asking photographers to see samples of their work. If they are getting married in the winter, they shouldask to see samples of wedding photographs taken in winter.

“And weddings are becoming more difficult because of the uality of digital cameras – everybody now thinks they can do a good job.”

Other disputes involve what Mr Lewis described as “customer service issues”.

“Weddings are happy occasions and people are usually very nice to you, but it is still a matter of getting people on board and knowing how to treat them well,” he said.

“You have to remember that you are there as a guest.”