September at Harewood Downs GC. Photo by Andy Hiseman
Andy Hiseman’s new 2024 golf photography portfolio at www.hisemanphoto.com celebrates the joy of golf.
Over 175 never-before-seen new images in five categories show a wide range of vistas, emotions, facilities and activities at modern golf clubs.
At well over 1,000 images Hiseman’s complete online gallery is one of the UK’s largest specialist golf portfolios, and most images are now available for wallcoverings, marketing campaigns, digital activity and promotional purposes.
“Sometimes a single photo is enough to drive new customers to your golf club” said Hiseman. “I aim to deliver well over hundred finished images after a photoshoot, but getting that one priceless, famous shot is what it’s all about.”
Nikon Professional photographer Hiseman also specialises in bringing golf clubs to life visually, showing the human element as well as documenting what you will find when you go there, with separate galleries on his website for People, Spa & Leisure, Facilities & Food and Press & Marketing.
“One of my favourite recent shots is of a little boy celebrating in the rain at The Drift GC, after he holed a putt” said Hiseman.” Another was at West Herts GC which took a lot of preparation – basically ‘formation greenkeeping’, which involved getting a couple of big Toros positioned just perfectly, and the Course Manager’s eyeline exactly where it needed to be.
“There’s a lovely one of a couple of golfers waiting for the snow to stop falling at Berkhamsted, so they can play golf, and some throwbacks to 2020 where we used to bump elbows!
“There are also funny little mini-collections in there if you look hard enough … greenkeepers being silly, people shaking hands, people jumping in the air or splashing out of bunkers, and people having a laugh in golf buggies.”
On the sharp recent increase in aerial drone photography, Hiseman had this to say: “There are hundreds of drone photography services in the UK, and aerial photos certainly serve a purpose. These services are easy to find, and their prices are becoming very competitive.
“But there are relatively few specialist golf photographers who devote themselves to capturing still images in the highest-possible quality, waiting for the right light, the right expression, and the right moment.
“Those carefully-composed shots are the ones which hit you right between the eyes. I still believe there is a place for the traditional hand-held equipment – you can be so much more precise, and I believe that the results can be every bit as stunning.”
Andy Hiseman uses Nikon camera bodies and lenses, and Adobe Lightroom for post-processing. Each photo is subject to an ‘image valet’ service to remove blemishes, marker posts, GUR signs and other visual clutter on the golf course.
“The work I do on a photoshoot in post-production is often more than twice as long as the time I spend at the golf club in person” he said. “If you ever see a bunker rake in one of my photos, I would be slightly traumatised. That’s why I love to photograph Berkhamsted Golf Club – there aren’t any bunkers there!
“But there is one actually, somewhere in the first quarter of my portfolio, taken at Moor Allerton GC. I wonder if anyone will spot it.”
As golfer for over 50 years, Hiseman shares the passion and frustration which we all feel. “Golf is my sport” he said. “It’s in my blood, and always will be. I don’t get to play much these days, but I’m a golfer through and through. Put me on a golf course at dawn with a camera, a ladder and a golf buggy, and I am in my element.
“My roles at Zen Green Stage and golf PR agency Flagstick limit my time for photography, but each year I manage to get out to do a few photoshoots, and those days are very precious to me – doing over 150 photoshoots golf clubs in the last 15 years has been a very useful way to stay in touch with what the modern game is really like!
“And I am always genuinely flattered when people say that they like the photographs which I take.”
See www.hisemanphoto.com for more, or contact Andy Hiseman on +44 (0)7795 360112 / andy@hiseman.com to enquire further.