Professional Commercial Photography in Manchester_

Founded in 2011, decoy is a Manchester-based studio specialising in corporate and commercial photography - capturing events, portraits, branded content and music.

Smiling bearded man wearing a white shirt standing in a bright, modern office setting.
Diverse group of people sitting in an audience, smiling and laughing during an event.
Smiling woman with long curly hair wearing a light purple sweater against a purple background.
Smiling man in a suit with glasses holding a microphone sitting on a red chair against a red curtain backdrop.
Smiling man in a yellow high-visibility shirt and black Montane cap using a screwdriver outdoors with green trees in the background.
Speaker in a dark auditorium presenting at Ramsay Health Care UK Senior Leadership Conference 2024 with blue patterned lighting on ceiling.
Smiling woman with glasses holding a marker and standing near a whiteboard in a modern office.
Young woman with curly hair and glasses smiling while sitting on a colorful painted bench in front of a graffiti-covered wall.
Corporate event showing people dancing to a band.
Man in glasses and dark sweater speaking in front of a purple backdrop with the word 'TOGETHER' and a logo, with blurred audience in foreground.
Low-angle view of a modern glass skyscraper reflecting a partly cloudy blue sky.
Group of sixteen people posing in front of a branded backdrop with red curtains, most wearing black Beechwood t-shirts.

Partnering with the UK's leading brands

A few reasons to partner with decoy_

Benefits of working together.

Experienced Pro

Years of experience capturing events, people, places, and moments.

Competitive Rates

Professional photography without the inflated price tag.

Quick Turnaround

Receive your preview edit the next day, with the full set ready in 3-5 days.*

Excellent Rep

Trusted by brands big and small, with five-star reviews to match.

Personal Touch

A relaxed, approachable style that makes guests feel comfortable.

Flexible & Adaptable

From boardrooms to banquets, we work seamlessly in any setting.

Man with glasses and conference badge holding a water bottle and smiling while talking to a woman in a red top with a colorful headband.

Read what clients have said about decoy_

Rated 5 stars on Google based on over 100+ reviews

Friendly, proactive and a pleasure to work with.

I cannot recommend Alex enough. We recently worked together on a corporate photoshoot and he made the whole process so smooth and hassle-free. He was quick to respond, incredibly professional and took a fantastic collection of shots that have been easily approved by clients on both sides.

Naomi
SkyParlour

Incredible service from start to finish.

Our collaboration with Decoy Media was an integral part of our marketing strategy. The programme of work and images delivered by Decoy Media helped our team to achieve a 20% upturn in occupancy levels during a challenging season. What we appreciated most about working with Alex was his ability to understand the project, translate our ideas, to get everyone on board to deliver the expected results and more. We would certainly recommend working with Decoy Media and will do so again in the future.

Dave
Mountain Lodge Switzerland

Attentive, professional and brilliant communication.

Working on a campaign to target UG & PG students from North America and Canada to encourage them to study in Manchester. Our campaign creative showcased the gritty and yet contemporary uniqueness of Manchester and so we needed to work with a professional and creative photographer to photograph current US and Canadian students in interesting locations across the City. In reviewing Alex's website, we saw that he had the perfect style and so we partnered with him to do a 4 day shoot with 8 students in some amazing locations - many of which Alex suggested. Alex was a pleasure to work with, he put the students at ease and captured some incredible shots that brought our creative vision to life superbly. He made the pre and post production phases easy and we'd definitely work with him again in the future.

Andrea
The University of Manchester
Corner angled photo of a Specsavers store interior.

Decoy have helped in creating world-class stills and video

Alex and Decoy have been working on various projects with the Specsavers Store Design Team for nearly eight years. During this time, Decoy have helped in creating world-class stills and video footage of new store formats to communicate to our stakeholders and store partners. All of this work has been key to achieving buy-in from our stakeholders. Enabling our store design projects to be rolled out at pace, not just in the UK but worldwide.

Andy
Specsavers
Photo of a performer on stage at a live theater show at Box of Tricks

Top notch photography and lovely to deal with.

I can't recommend Alex Mead and Decoy Media highly enough. He has a fantastic eye and his photographs of our theatre rehearsals really captured the spirit of the room. Top notch photography and lovely to deal with.

Adam
Box of Tricks Theatre

The face behind the camera

I'm Alex Mead, the photographer behind decoy — a Manchester-based photography studio with a focus on commercial, portrait and event photography. With 15+ years in the industry, I bring experience, a creative eye and a solutions-focused mindset to every shoot.

At Decoy, we pride ourselves on delivering high-quality, fast-turnaround images paired with a smooth, professional service.

400k+

Edits delivered

1,300+

Projects

350+

Client partnerships

15+

Years of experience

Smiling photographer holding a professional camera in a dimly lit banquet hall with guests seated at tables and candlelight.