Before Louise Smith Creative: Searching The Archives

Before diving into the realms of SEO, marketing, and branding, I spent my days as a press photographer, a role that truly honed my storytelling abilities.

My camera took me on journeys through Northamptonshire, Milton Keynes, and beyond, where I captured moments for local newspapers. Each day was different, filled with the anticipation of photographing breaking news, events and occasionally the odd celeb.

Some of those images still linger in archives under my former by-line, usually my maiden name or the name of the news agency who syndicated them back in the day. Looking back feels surreal, as they are often the unforgettable moments that we look back on when us old snappers catch up down the pub! (rare these days but we do like to remember when we were young and covering daily printed newspapers all though years ago!)

Throughout my photography career, I have covered everything from community stories and funerals to random celebrities and sports events. We were all masters of going from the side of the sports pitch, onto a formal charity event and then next thing you know, we had to cover breaking news on the way home with emergency services.

Some standout moments include an opportunity to photograph the legendary Sir David Attenborough (absolutely wonderful gentleman), and capturing the exhilarating moment of Lewis Hamilton's first World Championship win in 2008 (despite the heavy rain!) and trying to figure out who all of the celebrities were - Girls Aloud anyone?!

Press photography taught me to just jump in, capture what was happening as it happens and make sure that I have the needed angles covered - sometimes with things to avoid, privacy kept for sensitive stories or safeguarding. Often we'd be covering up to 10 jobs in one shift, so no time to hang about before we had to head back to download, caption and submit our photos. That was before we were then video trained.

Since then, I offer services including photography, marketing admin, and SEO friendly content, but my true interest lies in connecting with people and their stories regardless of the task. My goal is to help businesses discover their 'why' and share their unique narratives, online and offline. I like to problem solve and help where I can.

While the tools of storytelling have evolved, the fundamental skill remains the same: uncover the story, evoke emotion, and ensure it reaches the audience. Adapt it, try again and keep working at the ever changing rules.

I plan to share some of my old photographs from Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes, as they are integral to my journey here today, a bit older (cough) and maybe a bit wiser?!

These next few months are also another era in my career that I will be honest, has been governed by the needs of my family more recently. So, lets see what we get up to in 2026/2027!

This is the only print version I have from waaayyyy back when at the MK Bowl. One shot and you're out, but we got it!