This month we welcome Matt Higgins, Art Director at digital giant Blonde with a passion for animal photography - luckily for us he masterfully captures people too. 

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m 28 and based in Edinburgh. I work as an Art Director for a digital agency and photography is a big passion of mine. Football, music, creative stuff and exploring new places take up most of the rest of my time.

What inspired you to first pick up a camera?

My dad passed down his interest in photography to me, really. He used an SLR. I have a few cracking photos that he took of me when I was a kid. I got my first DSLR in 2010, it was a canon 1000D. Since then I’ve put a lot of effort (hard-earned cash) into upgrading my gear and going on trips with the sole purpose of getting some good photos and testing my skills.

What subjects are you most drawn to?

Definitely animals! But you can’t beat the feeling you get when you take a shot of a person or group of people and they love the photograph. Also, I’m a massive bokeh fan so I like all subjects that give me the option of shooting at low apertures.

What is your favourite gear you’re using at the moment?

I’ve got a (healthy) obsession with technology so I’ve always got my eye on different lenses and camera bodies. Right now I’m shooting with a Canon 6D and three L lenses – I’ve got the 35mm F1.4, 50mm F1.2 & the 24-105mm F4. For editing I use Lightroom which is incredible and Photoshop for any retouching.

Can you list a few of your favourite creative  resources (magazines, blogs, Instagram, etc.)

I love Instagram, fstoppers, This Is Colossal and a couple of YouTube channels – Jared Polin and Digital Rev TV.

My favourite Instagrammers are Kat Irlin, Elena Shumilova, Tony Detroit and The Dogist.

Please tell us the story behind one of your favourite photographs.

There’s this photo I took of my better half in North Berwick that I really like. It was an amazing sunset so the sky was completely lit up all pink and purple. She’s standing and you can see her reflection in the water, while the Bass Rock is aligned dead-centre behind her. Everything just came together perfectly for that one!

Keep up with Matt’s work here: http://www.matthiggo.com/, follow him on instagram.