Lee Cooper
DOCUMENTARY, PORTRAIT AND COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHER BASED IN MANCHESTER.
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I’m a documentary and portrait photographer based in Manchester. My practice moves between photography, collaborative storytelling, community-building and public dialogue, exploring identity, visibility and the ways personal experience is carried through people and places.
My wider photographic work has been shaped by photographing across the UK, Europe and the United States. Moving between cities, coastlines and communities has trained my eye to notice how people inhabit their surroundings, how environments leave their mark and how identity is expressed through gesture, posture and presence. Whether I am creating a portrait, documenting a public event or developing a long-form project, I aim to make images that feel honest, attentive and emotionally precise.
As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, photography has also become a means of reclaiming identity, voice and agency. Through Victorious Voices, I work collaboratively with survivors to create portraits and testimony-led narratives that confront stigma without reproducing pity or reducing people to what happened to them. The process is consent-led: participants help determine how they are represented, what is shared and what remains private. My lens is not passive; it is participatory.
I am also the founder of Manchester Photographers Collective, which creates opportunities for photographers to meet, exhibit and develop their practice together. Through exhibitions, photo walks and collaborative projects, the collective supports emerging creative communities while making photography more visible and accessible across Manchester and beyond.
My talks and lectures extend these ideas beyond the image. Drawing on photography, lived experience and the development of Victorious Voices, I speak about representation, trauma, narrative ownership and the responsibilities involved in telling other people’s stories. These conversations are another part of the practice: a way of examining how images operate within institutions, public spaces and wider culture.
Across all of my work, I am interested in photography as an encounter between photographer and participant, individual and community, private experience and public understanding. I use it to connect people, challenge established narratives and create spaces in which more complex stories can be seen and heard.
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I create polished, natural photographs that hold attention without losing the reality of the moment.
Working with a documentary eye and a clean editorial finish, I specialise in images that represent people, organisations and creative projects with clarity, dignity and purpose. Whether I am photographing a founder, artist, live performance or campaign, my approach is calm, collaborative and focused on capturing what matters without forcing the moment.
I have my own dedicated studio space in Manchester, providing a relaxed and private environment for portraits, headshots, personal branding and creative shoots. The studio allows us to work with controlled lighting and develop a visual approach around your personality, profession or project. I am also available for commissions on location across Manchester and throughout the UK.
Available for:
Studio portraits and headshots — creatives, founders, artists and professionals
Personal branding — websites, social media, campaigns and press materials
Editorial photography — profiles, interviews, features and publications
Events and launches — corporate events, community gatherings, talks and panels
Documentary commissions — longer-form storytelling, cultural projects and community organisations
What you’ll receive:
A straightforward and professional booking process
Calm, confidence-building direction throughout the shoot
A considered selection of professionally edited images
High-resolution files and web-ready versions
Fast-turnaround options when timing matters
To discuss a studio session, event or commissioned project, email lee@placesnowhere.com and I’ll send my availability and rates.
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Still Here — Hilton House, Manchester, 2026
Places Nowhere — 286 Deansgate, Manchester, 2025
Places Nowhere — Gallery Oldham, 2023
Manc of the Year — Barbirolli Square, Manchester, 2022
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Victorious Voices — Glasgow & Clyde Rape Crisis 50th Anniversary, Glasgow, 2026
Victorious Voices — IMD, Bradford, 2026
Victorious Voices — Challenging the Silence, Halifax, 2026
Manchester Gardens — MPC x Open Eye Gallery, Liverpool, 2026
Victorious Voices — Challenging the Silence, Huddersfield, 2026
Victorious Voices — Challenging the Silence, Wakefield, 2026
Victorious Voices — Challenging the Silence, Bradford, 2026
Where We Move Together (MPC) — Marriott V&A, Manchester, 2026
Victorious Voices — Challenging the Silence, Leeds, 2026
Victorious Voices — Survivor Solidarity, Hyde Park Book Club, Leeds, 2026
Victorious Voices — Sexual Violence and Health Research Day, Coventry University - 2025
Victorious Voices — Viv Gordon, Gloucester, 2025
Victorious Voices — 286 Deansgate, Manchester, 2025
Victorious Voices — Survivors West Yorkshire, Leeds, 2025
Victorious Voices —92 Degrees, Manchester, 2024
Victorious Voices — Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival, University of Glasgow, 2024
Salford Open — Salford Museum & Art Gallery, Salford, 2024
Manchester Open — HOME, Manchester, 2024
MancUnity (MPC) — Great Northern Warehouse, Manchester, 2024
In Manchester — Barbirolli Square, Manchester, 2022
Submerged Spaces — Submerged Studio, Manchester, 2022
‘Together’ — Inches Gallery, Altrincham, 2022
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Letting Stories Breathe: Photography, Narrative Identity and Survivor Agency — invited lecture, UCLA, Los Angeles, 2026
Challenging the Silence — West Yorkshire Seminar Series, 2026
GET IN TOUCH.
I’m available for studio portraits, editorial assignments, event coverage and commissioned photography across the UK. I also welcome exhibition enquiries, speaking invitations, collaborative projects and conversations around Victorious Voices. Please use the form below to get in touch.