The Association’s Board of Directors is made up of up to eleven Non-Executive Directors, who are all unpaid volunteers and the AOP Execitive Director officer:
- Seven working photographer members (can include one agent member), elected by a general meeting of the company
- One assistant member elected at a general meeting
- Up to three Independent Directors, elected by the Board to bring strong business experience and expertise with them, one of whom is elected as Chair
Dates of appointment, re-election and retirement of each Board member are given below.
James Vellacott
AOP Chair
After spending 21 years as a press photographer, 15 of them as staff on the Daily Mirror, James left to start film production company Cherryduck and associated business Tower Bridge Studios.
Cherryduck is a successful production company aimed at the ever-increasing demand for video production. Tower Bridge Studios is a film and photography studio complex and helps to make up the in-house business production model that has become so popular with Cherryducks’ clients.
James’ career as a photographer has taken him across the world covering news and celebrity stories to conflict zones such as the Afghanistan, Israel, West Bank, the Kosovo conflict and was selected to be embedded with the British Forces in Iraq in 2003. In 2008 James produced the first video blog from Helmand Province in Afghanistan that heralded his start in video prompting him to start Cherryduck with his wife Michelle.
James today employs 23 full time staff and whole host of freelance creative talent from DoP’s, producers and Directors to photographers. He has adapted to fit the requirements of todays digital imagery market and is working with the AOP to develop new photography and video business models employing the latest workflows for photographers in this fast evolving digital landscape.
Joined the Board: November 2015
Re-stands for second term: 2017
Re-stands for final term: 2019
Stands down: 2021
Anne Mannion
Independent Director
Anne is an Associate Solicitor at the specialist media firm Swan Turton LLP. She was a contributor, with Charles Swan, to the legal sections of ‘Beyond the Lens’ and speaks regularly on copyright law at the Association’s conferences. She has been part of the Association's legal advice service since 2010 and has particularly enjoyed providing practical advice to members on how to bring copyright infringement claims in the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court.
Anne has been in the media industry all her life: starting out as an actress, then becoming a theatre and film producer before spending 10 years at the head of a television commercials company in Soho. She is well aware of the commercial pressures and creative challenges encountered by professionals in this tough market. She also knows her way round an f-stop, having grown up with a photographer brother and been married to a cinematographer.
She believes the Association’s work in shaping future copyright laws that are so fundamental to photographer members and the representation it provides to members, both individually and collectively, are vital in the#instagram age.
Joined the Board: May 2016
Re-stands for second term: 2018
Re-stands for final term: 2020
Stands down: 2022
Stephen Potts
Member Director
Photography has been a hobby in Stephen's family for 3 generations and his interest dates from early teenage years, when he knew photography would be his career after a few jobs turned into more work. He left school at 18 driving a car which was bought with money earned behind the lens and went full-time with an apprenticeship in Belfast-based studio, ‘Advertising Photography’. Stephen shot work for banks, government agencies, retailers, manufacturers and the food and beverage industries and loved it! His parents had hoped he would follow his father into engineering so it was with some relief to them, shortly after completing his apprenticeship, that he landed the newly vacant position of Production Manager and it all started to look like a proper career to his parents. He took the decision to become self-employed in 1993 and continues to make his living as a photographer to this day with work in recent years being for a mix of advertising and corporate/industrial clients with a growing trend towards moving images. He has always enjoyed being a photographer and still finds himself waking up in the morning knowing that working at something you love is truly a privilege.
Along the way Stephen also ran a photographic equipment business which offered both sales and service to commercial and retail labs. In 1996 he secured the sales agency for Noritsu minilabs which, although enshrined in a worldwide agreement between 2 industry giants, seemed to be largely neglected by Kodak in Ireland at the time. This opportunity led to a very successful partnership with Noritsu UK which continued through the final good years of film-processing. The change to digital labs saw Agfa seize the technology initiative and he changed brand, his lab clients followed over the next year or two and the film-processing chapter ended for Stephen in a successful relationship with Agfa UK.
Stephen is no stranger to voluntary roles with service on the committees of sporting organisations in both motorsport and target shooting. He is also on the Federation of Small Businesses’ Belfast City Branch committee. This involves planning forthcoming branch activities which include education and networking events. That work also supports the FSB’s ongoing membership drive and efforts to ensure that the needs of small- to medium-sized businesses are reflected in public decision-making processes at both council and government levels.
The photographic business has been good to Stephen and he feels it is right to put something back by volunteering for this position with the AOP, and hopes some of the experience gained both through working in the industry and in voluntary posts will help contribute to the work of the Board.
Joined the Board: October 2015
Stands down: 2021
Re-stands: 2017 & 2019
Re-stands for final term: 2019
Ed Robinson
Member Director
Starting at a young age, Ed has vast experience as a picture editor and art director and is well versed in visual communication and the power of strong, effective, consistent visual imagery. In 2006 he became founding Creative Director of OneRedEye, a distinctive visual communications agency. A full member of the Association of Photographers, he served as a member director for two years and has now rejoined the Board for a second term. He also retains professional membership of the UK Picture Editors Guild and the World Photographic Academy and has judged numerous prestigious industry awards.
Ed's award recognition includes the One Eyeland Awards, Les Rencontres d'Arles, the Renaissance Photography Prize and the Hasselblad Masters. His client list includes Virgin, SABMiller and John Lewis as well as distinctive fashion labels Noir Basic and Chartwell and G. In addition Ed has been personal photographer to such people as Harvey Goldsmith CBE and Sir Richard Branson.
Joined the Board: October 2015
Stands down: 2021
Re-stands: 2017 & 2019
Re-stands for final term: 2019
Sam Robinson
Member Director
My Catalan mother and English father encouraged me to be whatever I wanted in life, and inspired me with their cultural differences to be fascinated by people. I love what I do and I love watching the way people talk and interact with each other, and most of my photography is about trying to capture those emotions.
Communication and relaxation define my style – they’re the tools I use to get something authentic from my subjects. Im constantly seeking honesty, personalities and stories, and it’s my intrigue in people that helps me achieve those moments. When I shoot I’m not just trying to create something, I’m studying the way people behave, watching how they respond and using that understanding to get the best image in camera. Making a natural moment often takes a large crew of people, which means you get to have have a hell of a lot of fun while you do it. I’m lucky enough to have a great team around me, who help me work at the pace that I want to work and create what I want to create. We shoot very loose and keep things relaxed, putting people into a space and just seeing what they do.
Working this way has won me awards, exhibitions and book publications, its allowed the team to travel the globe with big clients and see amazing places, but mostly it’s meant that we go to work each day with a huge smile on our faces. Although I’m comfortable anywhere from a Los Angeles beach to a rooftop in Tokyo, my real home is Paper Mill Studios in East London. My wife and I built it together to realise a long-term dream of having our home, work and the people we love together under one roof. It’s transformed all our passion and enthusiasm into the most incredible place to be. In photography we’re judged by a final result, and for me that result comes from working with the best team and having fun while we do it.
Joined the Board: October 2018
Stands down: 2024
Re-stands: 2020 & 2022
Re-stands for final term: 2024
Carol Allen-Storey
Member Director
Carol Allen-Storey is an award-winning photojournalist specialising in chronicling humanitarian and social issues.
“My images are intimate, about issues and citizens I deeply care about. I believe photographs may not be capable of doing the moral work for us, but they can trigger the process of social consciousness”
In 2009 Storey was appointed a UNICEF ambassador for photography.
Carol’s work has been exhibited extensively. In the UK, at the National Portrait Gallery, on the South Bank, Somerset House, House of Parliament and Royal Festival Hall. Internationally her work has been shown at the Power House in New York, the European Union HQ in Brussels, the Nobel Peace Centre in Oslo, the DR Congo, also in Berlin, Moscow and Czech Republic.
Her solo exhibitions include: ‘The AMAHORO Generation’ - ‘CROSSINGS’ - ‘TEENS and the Loneliness of AIDS’ - ‘FRACTURED LIVES’ - ‘Children of Hope’ - ‘Anything Is Possible’ - ‘The Vanishing Assets of Africa’ and ‘The Savagery and Poetry of Africa’.
Storey has won and been shortlisted for multiple international awards. Some include:
The Taylor-Wessing 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2016. 1st Prize in the Act of Kindness International Award, the Renaissance Award, the International Spider Awards for 2008 through 2014, The Moving Walls exhibition touring Europe. Storey received the outstanding achievement documentary project for the Kontinent Awards, and she was selected as a finalist for the International Colour Awards for Photojournalism.
Storey is a graduate with distinction of the Central St. Martins, Master Photography programme, 2000. She earned her BA at Syracuse University in History/Political science and secured her MA at Columbia University in Far Eastern Studies. A native New Yorker, she resides in London.
Joined the Board: December 2016
Stands down: 2022
Re-stands: 2017 & 2019
Re-stands for final term: 2019
Richard Seymour
Member Director
These are exciting times for professional photography and despite the rapid changes, Richard's enthusiasm for this industry never wanes.
After studying for a degree in Professional Photography at the University of Westminster, Richard went on to assist some amazing location and studio advertising photographers in London, all of whom were AOP members.
This was followed by a period in Dubai, UAE where he set up his first studio. Returning to the UK two years later, after his adventures in the desert, he gradually started shooting editorial and commercial work for automotive and corporate clients.
In the past 15 years Richard has moved into advertising and design photography for a range of global brands in the automotive, aerospace and technology sectors.
In addition, for the past couple of years he has been directing films and TV commercials and is now expanding his portfolio into VR and AR.
Richard is also a Leica Ambassador for the Leica S medium-format pro-camera system.
He has been a finalist in the AOP Awards in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016, winning Best In Category in 2012 and 2015. He was also a judge of the AOP Open Awards in 2013.
He is a strong believer that the AOP must be relevant to the next generation of photographers and filmmakers. He believes that the combination of The AOP Awards, the seminar programmes and the professional services support that are unique to the AOP do much to assist members which include many of the elite image creators in the world today.
As a Board member he considers it his mission to communicate what he feels are the enormous advantages of membership to undergraduates and talented self-taught practitioners starting out in this incredible business.
Joined the Board: December 2016
Stands down: 2022
Re-stands: 2018 & 2020
Re-stands for final term: 2020
Oliver Goodrich
Assisting Photographer Member Director
Oliver has been a photographic assistant for over 10 years, working in most areas of photography, and an AOP Assisting Photographer member since 2012. He now shoots stills and video himself, on both commissioned and personal shoots, as well as video for production companies and filmmakers, whilst continuing to do varied assisting work.
As well as the overall concerns of the AOP and it's members, Oliver is particularly keen to represent the opinions and needs of assistants of all experience levels and those wanting to make the move from assistant to photographer.
Joined the Board: October 2015
Stands down: 2021
Re-stands: 2017 & 2019
Re-stands for final term: 2019
Rachell Smith
Member Director
Rachell Smith is a British Photographer who works between London and New York.
After graduating from The London College of Communication, Rachell went on to assist some of the world’s biggest photographers before setting up her own studio in London.
Rachell’s modern take on beauty and portraiture has been featured in a large number of leading publications around the world, including Glamour Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Allure and Vogue Italia.
Rachell is inspired by personalities, emotion and style and people often describe her work as soft and beautiful.
Joined the Board: February 2017
Stands down: 2023
Re-stands: 2019 and 2021
Re-stands for final term: 2023
Skye Trayler
Member Director
Skye graduated from Leeds University in 2006 with a BA in English Literature. After a few years of luxurious reading, she was ready to start earning her keep and immediately started working for her mother, Carolyn Trayler. Carolyn was already an established commercial photographers’ agent and had built up a strong reputation within the industry over her 30+ year career.
After some road testing time to ensure the mother/daughter relationship was a good idea, (many people warned them against it!) Skye was made an official partner and wasted no time re-assessing the industry and utilising her fresh eyes to sign new talent.
Over the next few years, the agency not only diversified into new areas (lifestyle, beauty, CGI and motion) but also developed its in-house production department which soon became an integral part of its offering.
Since Carolyn’s retirement in 2016, the agency has been operating as a team of six passionate, hard working agent/producers led by Skye and her Co-Director and Head of Production George Corbin.
Skye’s USP is for supporting and nurturing creative photographers and film makers so that they become the best versions of themselves. She only works with people she believes in, and once convinced, she remains loyal to the end with a dedication that knows no bounds.
“Developing long term creative partnerships based on trust and mutual belief is what leads to successful artist/agent careers. This business grew out of a family, and it is my intention to preserve that ethos as we continue to grow.”
Joined the Board: December 2017
Stands down: 2023
Re-stands: 2019 & 2021
Re-stands for final term: 2021
Seamus McGibbon
Executive Director
Seamus McGibbon
Executive Director
020 3327 7209
seamus@aophoto.co.uk
Seamus has worked in a variety of roles in the arts and charity sector since graduating from Hertfordshire College of Art and Design, St Albans in 1989 where he studied Model-Making. Originally a freelance model-maker he has gained extensive experience of business development, fundraising, events management and training at such organisations as: the National Film Theatre; London Film Festival; Stonewall; Shape Arts and the Theatrical Management Association, a membership body representing professionals in the theatre industry and performing arts. Following this, he worked for the charity, Luton Culture, where his role was to help create additional income to support its work.
Seamus enjoys wine, cheese and assists his Jack Russell, Basil, with his love of long walks, tennis balls and going to the pub to meet other dogs.
Portrait © David Partner 2014