Customer Testimonials

2 friends and I hired Derek to take some special photographs of our 3 golden retrievers pups for their first birthday. Derek was incredibly patient with our 3 very active girls and produced some really fantastic shots. He is a total genius with the camera, truly capturing each pup's personality and we all had so much fun during the outdoor photo shoot as an added memory.
We wouldn't hesitate to recommend Derek to anyone hoping to capture those special moments of their fur babies.

L West (August 2026)

From start to finish, Derek was an absolute dream to work with. His communication and professionalism were outstanding throughout the entire process. No matter how small the question, I always knew I could send him an email and hear back quickly. He explained everything clearly, set expectations perfectly, and made us feel completely at ease in the lead-up to the wedding.

On the day itself, Derek was incredible. We specifically wanted someone who could capture natural, candid moments without making the day feel staged or intrusive — and he absolutely nailed it. He somehow managed to be everywhere and nowhere all at once, like a ninja behind the camera. He blended seamlessly into the day while still being available whenever we or our guests wanted specific photos. As people who aren’t particularly comfortable in front of a camera, he made the entire experience feel effortless and natural. He arrived exactly when promised, and I’m fairly certain he stayed longer than agreed because he was so dedicated to capturing every important moment.

Before the wedding, we discussed the style and types of photos we wanted, and Derek exceeded every expectation. One of our biggest requests was to make sure our ring-bearer and fur baby, Willow, was featured as much as possible — and the photos he captured of her are honestly some of the most beautiful images we’ve ever seen. He perfectly captured not just the moments, but the emotion and personality behind them.

When we received the photos, we were blown away. We got a small preview gallery within just a couple of days, which was such an exciting surprise, and then the full gallery followed incredibly quickly after that. The editing style was stunning — natural, timeless, and even better than we could have imagined. Every single image felt special.

The value for money was unbelievable. People always say you get what you pay for, but Derek delivered a level of quality and service far beyond what we expected. We genuinely could not recommend him more highly and will absolutely be recommending him to everyone we know.

One particular photo of me, my new husband, and Willow sitting together outside the venue is something I will treasure forever, long after she’s gone. That alone is priceless to us. Thank you, Derek, for giving us memories we’ll cherish for the rest of our lives.

P Scott (May 2026)

Derek did the photography for our wedding and what an amazing experience from start to finish. With the pre wedding photoshoot and making us feel at ease with him before the big day, to the actual wedding day and him capturing every amazing moment, having visions of photographs where we wouldn’t have thought and his amazing wife Bev coming along who helped me with my dress and look perfect in photographs. He was so caring and amazing and everyone loved getting their photographs taken. The communication from Derek and Bev was great all day. We received our sneak peaks 24 hours after the wedding which we have fell in love with. I would highly recommend Derek.

K Badger (May 2026)

I would highly recommend Derek Henderson photography. I got a photoshoot of my dogs as a Christmas present and he was amazing. He was very kind and intuitive with my dogs and they absolutely loved him! I asked for action photos and that was exactly what we got, it was incredible how he captured them mid flight and the photos are so full of life. He was fully invested in the photoshoot, very approachable and friendly and his passion for photography and pets was evident during the shoot and also in the results. As stated above, I would highly recommend.

L Manning (January 2026)

I recently had new headshots done with Derek and I am so happy with the results! Such a lovely guy he made me feel so comfortable in the process as it can be daunting and tailored the photos to exactly what I need! Would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a photographer for any event you have coming up!

J Hamlani (December 2025)

We couldn't of asked for more from Derek on our wedding day! He went above and beyond the full day and nothing was a problem. He was professional and just fitted in as part of the wedding party! Myself and Dan were over the moon with our photos! Dereks character and enthusiasm really added to our perfect day! he was amazing from start to finish. He interacted with every guest! All our guests commented on how he was the best photographer they have ever seen! Highly recommend 🌟
If you need a photographer, look no further, Derek will meet all your photographic needs for your special day! Thankyou so much Derek, keep being you!

R Dunn (December 2025)

We hired Derek for our wedding across at Lodore Falls Hotel & Spa over in the lakes and we couldn’t be happier. From the moment we booked, Derek was professional, friendly and genuinely invested in our wedding! Derek and Bev really made us and our guests feel comfortable in front of the camera and fitted themselves into the event brilliantly!

The photos are beautiful, really well edited and we cannot wait to get our physical album! Derek captured everything we hoped for and more we didn’t even realise!

If you’re looking for someone who’s friendly, very talented and really cares about your big day look no further!

Once again Derek, thank you so much! Sam & Lauren

(November 2025)

A family friend recommended Derek for our wedding photography, we contacted Derek and from the moment we spoke to him we found him very helpful and very thorough, very easy to approach and chat too.

Derek made the effort to go to our venue and do some homework on where was best to capture our beautiful moments.

On our wedding day, Derek and his Wife Bev made myself and our families feel so comfortable and at ease and all the photos flowed naturally, we are over the moon with our photos and they will forever be very sentimental to us, not only was our day focused on us as bride and groom but we got some special moments of all of our family too. If you need a photographer, Derek is your guy! Xx

H Dickinson (September 2025)

Derek is fabulous. Recently booked a photo shoot - part brand shoot part dog photo shoot. He was amazing with the dogs and made me feel totally at ease. And the photos, just incredible. He has captured my Goldies beautifully. An incredible photographer and lovely person too. Thank you for a fabulous experience !

K Flounders (August 2025)

Would highly recommend Derek. We had a family photoshoot, 25 of us ranging from 80 years old to 1 month old. Derek was so patient and good humoured with us all and afterwards gave great advice on sizing of prints and framing. We are delighted with the photos.

V Patterson (August 2025)

✨ Shoutout to our amazing wedding photographer, Derek! ✨

I can’t say enough wonderful things about Derek – he was absolutely incredible on our wedding day! From the moment he arrived, he brought such a calm, friendly, and positive energy that instantly made us feel comfortable in front of the camera.

Not only is Derek a genuinely kind person, but his talent behind the lens is unreal – the photos are beyond what we imagined! He captured every little detail and emotion so beautifully, giving us memories we’ll cherish forever.

If you’re looking for someone who’s not just an amazing photographer but also a joy to have around on such an important day, Derek is the one. 📸❤️

Thank you, Derek, for making our wedding day even more special! 🌟

M Stebbings (July 2025)

Used Derek for our wedding this year and he was amazing. He sorted everything out and kept in mind everything that we wanted from the day. He covered everything and the pictures looked incredible. Fantastic service.

C Puttock (June 2025)

Fantastic high quality photographs of my new dog Bertie on a photoshoot, highly recommended

K Butler (April 2025)

We had a fantastic experience with Derek during a photo shoot with our golden puppy. From the start, he was incredibly professional and made everyone feel relaxed. He was especially considerate of Ziggy, who is still a puppy and can get overstimulated and tired quickly. When the photos arrived, we were absolutely thrilled with how they turned out - better than we could have hoped for!

R Waite (March 2025)

Would highly recommended Derek! Fantastic photos, made us feel very at ease. We had our dog at the wedding and he has captured her amazingly! We are over the moon with the images and quality and all our guests agree he made them feel comfortable and they all love our photos.

R Aitken (Feb 2025)

Friendly, professional service. Patience of a saint on pet shoots. Knows all the tricks. Absolutely recommend

N Colley (Jan 2025)

Had a brilliant photo shoot with Derek at Odin Valley with the dogs Rosie and Gambit. We weren't really sure what we wanted and he had loads of ideas, the dogs had a blast and the photos are amazing. Highly recommend Derek, so much so we are planning another one! Thank you so much.

L Robson (Oct 2024)

We had the pleasure of working with Derek when he was our photographer for our wedding on the 17.8.24. Derek was a pleasure to work with, he made what we thought was going to be a bit awkward fun and he managed to capture the day perfect. His service was first class and I would definitely recommend him, he went over and above, we had a sneak preview a couple of days after and had the whole collection within 10 days. Then we received our memory stick today in a lovely presentation box which we thought was a lovely touch

L Quinan-Gibson (Sept 2024)

Derek has photographed Kyra 3 times now. First time he was photographing a friends dog and he kindly took some of Kyra as well, I knew then I needed to hire some private sessions. The 2nd time I asked Derek if he would photograph Kyra at the Angel of the North and more recently I asked him to photograph her at the beach. Derek is so easy to ‘work’ with, so lovely, kind, professional & listened to my ideas and made them work and showed me his visions and explains in easy terms what to do - 100% recommend Derek to everyone

C Milner (Sept 2024)

Absolutely brilliant service from start to finish. Giving us ideas from Derek's own experience but allowing us to make our own decisions and not imposing his own ideas on us. Derek made us both feel at ease along with our family members. Derek gave up his Father’s Day as our venue was brand new and they had an opening day so he met us there to get the feel of the place before our big day to ensure he knew things like sun times shadows etc, to me was above and beyond.

Our special day was captured beautifully and would highly recommend.

S. Brown (July 2024)

I have used Derek for several photo shoots of my puppy litters and he is not only a master behind the camera but also a true professional. He always maintains a friendly and approachable demeanor and always makes me feel at ease throughout the session. Derek is extremely patient, he listened to my ideas and incorporated them seamlessly into the shoot.

G. Beard (July 2024)

What can I say apart from the magician has done it again…

We took our golden retriever for some pet photographs to be taken by Derek and after receiving the results last night they were everything I could have asked for and more!

Derek is super friendly and absolutely AMAZING with your pet, he knows exactly where to (try) to get them to stand/sit for that perfect shot. Chester can’t be trusted off his lead as he runs away and then only comes back in his own time, for all of these pictures he’s on a lead and you would never be able to tell!

Once again Derek you’ve outdone yourself and were very very grateful

M Wilkes (April 2024)

We can't thank Derek enough for capturing the most beautiful images of our lovely golden retriever. Derek was brilliant from start to finish and made us all feel so comfortable. Very clear his passion for working with animals and he also captured some lovely images of us as a family to celebrate our 1st wedding anniversary. Do not hesitate to book Derek and looking forward to our next family shoot! Best Wishes, Sally, Gio and Otto

S Di Paolo (December 2023)

Derek managed to capture some amazing shots of my boy who just loves to run!!! Would def recommend!

K Bevan - Newcastle (October 2023)

Derek was absolutely amazing. What an incredible experience shared with my bestfriend and my two dogs. Derek is so good with dogs (mine were extremely barky and anxious) he was amazing with them both being on leads and not being the best behaved. He’s such a lovely person and captures incredible pictures of your favourite animals. Would 100% recommend his service.

L Calder - Hebburn (October 2023)

Derek done all our photos for our Wedding on 21 July 2023 he done an amazing job we are over the moon with every single photo take even tho hate getting my photo taken

Derek was Very professional

M Allen - Sunderland (September 2023)

I booked Derek's Gold package so that I would be able to have some beautiful photos of our much adored Golden Retriever. Derek managed to capture her beautifully - I was moved to tears with the photos he took and the fantastic end result. I also requested some photos of us as a family and they were absolutely perfect. I can not recommend him enough as a photographer, his passion for his work is clear and he helped to put us at ease almost instantly and was incredibly approachable and friendly. We were so impressed that we ended up booking him as our wedding photographer pretty much the same day!

T Sweet - Chester-le-Street (August 2023)

Had a fantastic shoot with Derek. He comes highly recommended. He took some absolutely fantastic photographs of my dog Beaux We chose Saint Mary’s Lighthouse as the location and it was a really busy day, but he has photo shopped all the visitors out really well.. and he spend time with my dog ( who loved him by the way) on the floor in various positions to get the best angle… The result was some fantastic pictures which I will treasure forever… would definitely use again in the future and pass his details on to my friends and family.

S Barraclough - North Shields (August 2023)

We received a pet photoshoot for a Christmas present and what a great gift it was! From beginning to end, the experience was 5-star. We aren't great at getting our photographs taken but Derek put us all immediately at ease. He definitely knows his craft and we got a fantastic selection of images to pick from. However, there was just too many and we ended up buying them all and they now take pride of place in our electronic photo frame. We would definitely recommend Derek without any hesitation.

P Gray - Boldon (August 2023)

Derek did a photo shoot with our 4 dogs at Odin Valley. We all had so much fun, the dogs absolutely adored Derek. The photos he took are fantastic, capturing the dogs having such a great time. Highly recommend.

N Eastwood - Durham (August 2023)

Derek did an awesome job and made our event even better with the great photos. I highly recommend Derek as he’s super professional and an excellent photographer.

S Motley - USA (August 2023)

Derek provided outstanding personal service for our US/UK family reunion in June, 2023. His candid photos captured the fun all were having at the reunion. He also did family group pictures which also captured the events joy. He interacted with the families and friends, making everyone comfortable. He did a fabulous job and we have made a new friend in South Shields. Thank you Derek.

K Gottschling - Colorado USA (August 2023)

We definitely recommend Derek for his amazing work. We used him for our puppies 1st birthday photoshoot, and his ideas were very creative and he was so patient. Thanks again Derek

K Hague - Jarrow (July 2023)

We have been fortunate enough to use Derek on several occasions ourselves , as well as for gift vouchers for others. I can’t recommend Derek enough , the passion and care he puts into each session is clearly shown in his photographs which are so personal and beautifully captured. We will never go anywhere else. Thank you so much.

A Cassap - Sunderland (July 2023)

Derek took some photos of my daughter and her friends at prom this week. Absolutely brilliant service, so professional. Derek was great with communication before/ after, was great with the kids throughout and all images were edited and with us the next day. 100% recommend.

L Male - South Shields (July 2023)

We had such a wonderful time at our photoshoot with Derek, he was so kind and patient with our pups despite them being little monsters! Our photos are absolutely beautiful and we couldn’t be more pleased! Thank you

N McEwan - Choppington (July 2023)

Thanks to Derek for helping us to have some great memories of our son's 21st birthday party. Derek made himself very discreet, creating very natural photos. He also helped with downloading, saving photos etc after the event. Would definitely use again. Lisa & Shaun.

Lisa & Shaun - South Shields (July 2023)

I would highly recommend Derek from the moment he met my two dogs at Odin valley, he put my nervous dog at such ease through out the whole photo shoot. Our puppy fell head over heels in love with him and they say animals are a great judge of people. Derek Kept us Updated at every step of the process, only issue we had was that we could not choose our favourite picture at the end due to each one turning out better than I ever thought. Thank you again Derek.

J Harrison - Newcastle (May 2023)

Derek's quality, experience, patience and friendliness are second to none. Me and my family were bowled over by the exceptionally high standard of photos of our pets and his advice. We opted for the 100+ photo package and a calendar. Derek managed to capture the essence and characters of all four of our pets (1 dog, 2 cats and a kitten.... which is no mean feat!!). All of the animals were so calm with Derek because of his nature. Thank you Derek, a true 5 star service!

M Power – North Shields (April 2023)

I can’t recommend Derek enough because his patience and determination to achieve the BEST photos he can was definitely achieved at our photoshoot on 26th March, 2023. I was a bit nervous about our photoshoot at first as I wasn’t sure how Maisie my 6month old Golden Retriever would behave - never work with children or animals so they say - but Derek put me at ease straight away and observed various places in the woods where he could see an amazing shot and guided me to encourage Maisie into ‘pose’ which was almost impossible at times but he achieved the impossible with the most wonderful, natural and amazing photos ever! I am over the moon with them all! He even had the adage of Maisie’s Mum, Grandma and sister joining us after a while to complicate things which he took in his stride and has given me some amazing family photos also. One especially with Maisie and sister Clodagh running together almost knocking their Grandma Dolly over just makes me laugh every time I look at it! Derek caught Maisie’s character and soul and has given me a wonderful memory forever of the day with the added bonus of the most amazing photos I’ll treasure forever! Thank you so much Derek for ‘capturing’ my girl perfectly.

A Miller - Hexham (March 2023)

OMG! What can I say about this man apart from he’s a magician. Each and every photo he takes of my girls (2 and 4 legged) has me bubbling with tears. The attention to detail is just OUTSTANDING. Derek puts his heart and soul into every photoshoot, he never backs down from a challenge and my goodness I’ve give him lots of challenges, from photoshoots with capturing 10 new born puppies, to then come back 7 weeks later and take the most adorable photos that were given to their new families.

There is only one person for the job of taking photos of my family, and that is Mr Derek Henderson! A true gentleman, friend and mostly never afraid of getting wet or muddy which always happens on my photoshoots.

I highly recommend Derek to capture any memories you need.

Lots of love the Blackburns x

The Blackburns - Prudoe (March 2023)

Our photo shoot was at the beach and we had a great time. Cassie, our Labrador, posed and showed off for Derek and helped him achieve the best photos of her. The action shots were amazing and he even managed to get some shots of her sitting still and looking serious, which doesn’t happen very often! Derek didn’t even seem to mind standing in rock pools to get the best shots. We highly recommend Derek and the photos are amazing.

E Armstrong - South Shields (March 2023)

I thoroughly recommend Derek Henderson. He was brilliant with our Border terrier Freddie who can be a bit reactive. Derek has a fantastic way with dogs and straight away Freddie and Derek were the best of friends. Freddie had a great time doing everything that Derek asked. Now we have some amazing photographs to treasure and Freddie has a best friend! The quality of the photograph which we have amplified into a wall canvas is testament to the quality of his work.

P Greig Roberts - South Shields (February 2023)

My husband and I had a photoshoot with our two labradors and Derek on Cleadon Hills.

Derek was so much fun, and didn't mind me saying "did you get her looking cute" every two minutes.

We had a lovely morning and the photos are incredible, we have them on our hallway wall.

We'd highly recommend Derek, he has a lovely nature with the dogs and doesn't mind what he needs to do, to get the shot.

C White - South Shields (February 2023)

Derek came to South Shields beach to capture some great action shots of my goldie, Hugo. The results were brilliant and I can’t quite believe how Derek got the shots with how fast they were charging about the beach. So so happy with the photos we’ve received. Thank you Derek!!!

L Boylen - Sunderland (January 2023)