`MA Photography — Manchester Metropolitan University 22nd September 2025 – Present`
`AA2A`
`Resident Artist.`
`Resident at: Blackpool School of Arts`
`2025`

Richard Oughton
Documentary & Portrait Photographer

North-West, UK

| rjoughton@gmail.com | 07759193715 |

Profile

Documentary and portrait photographer with a long-term focus on British subculture, community, and place. My work is shaped by repetition, ritual, and shared experience, developed through slow, observational methods. Alongside ongoing personal projects, I undertake commissioned work for cultural and community organisations. I am currently completing an MA in Photography at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Professional Experience

Freelance Photographer — Self-employed (2015 – Present)

- Documentary and portrait commissions for cultural, community, and creative organisations
- Selected commissions:
• LeftCoast (Blackpool) — on-location portrait series of the organisation’s team
• Harlem Shuffle Records (Canada) — front and back cover photography for a Northern Soul album DJed by Andy Smith (Record Store Day 2024)
• Fever (Candlelight Concerts) — location-based photography; selected for local knowledge and low-light working
- Location portraiture using off-camera flash, enabling sitters to remain in familiar environments
- End-to-end project management: briefing, planning, production, delivery

Specialist Practitioner (Digital Photography for Beginners) — Blackpool School of Arts April 2016 – Present)

- Design and deliver the evening class Digital Photography for Beginners
- Develop and manage the scheme of work
- Support student progression into further education and creative pathways

Gallery Founder / Coordinator — Independent Art Space, Blackpool (2024, short-term)

- Founded and ran a small independent gallery space
- Curated exhibitions by local and emerging artists

- Managed programming, installation, and day-to-day operations

Selected Projects

Northern Soul — Ongoing documentary project (10+ years)

Where The Wind Howls — Ongoing analogue project

Selected Exhibitions & Publications

Exhibitions

Northern Soul — Blackpool School of Arts Gallery, May 2026

Publications / Releases

Bother Magazine, Issue 6 — published 26 August 2025
Harlem Shuffle Records (Canada) — album cover (front & back), Record Store Day 2024Rankin: 2020 – A Year Like No Other — self-portrait included

Education

MA Photography — Manchester Metropolitan University (Start year – Present)

L3 Award in Education & Training (AET) — 2017

BA (Hons) Three Dimensional Design (Ceramics) — University of Central Lancashire, 1993 – 1996

Skills