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Aircraft interiors are a challenging genre for a number of reasons. There`s a distinct lack of space inside an aircraft ,particularly working space. I`ve lost count of the number of times I`ve bumped my head or whacked my knee whilst clambering around to obtain the best photographs. It`s also hot onboard.....you generally wont find the air conditioning running on an aircraft unless you`re about to fly on it ,add this to the fact there are often lots of bodies and systems running..... So it really is a situation where your shirt is well and truly stuck to you whilst on there with beads of sweat running down your face. One of the other problems is that there`s generally someone else on the aircraft be it engineers or technicians. This can make it difficult to get a clear and uninterrupted shot at something. Their job is obviously important and time is of the essence with a grounded aircraft, so they must be allowed to do their job. They come first. Only rarely have I been on an empty one.

The aim of this genre of photography is to obviously depict the aircraft in its best light so that when customers see the image they are impressed enough with the interior to want to fly on it.

Therefore, particular attention has to be paid to the preparation of these shots. Perfect framing is utmost and you have to make sure there is no distraction at all in the shot. This means straightening seat covers, making sure all the safety cards are straight, being meticulous about eradicating background clutter (often people!) and seeing that all the overhead lockers are closed etc. I`ve lost count of the times I`ve taken the `perfect` shot and then realised afterwards an overhead locker was open.

Certain photos are taken as `selling points` such as legroom seats, so careful attention is also paid to make sure these areas always look attractive and spacious.

Another challenge on the long haul jets is presented by the In Flight Entertainment systems. The touch screens switch on when tapped but go back off after 2 mins of inactivity. To get a shot from the back of a cabin it`s not unusual to see 3 of us running inbetween the seats tapping the screens to make sure they`re all illuminated for the shot. On many occasions I`ve run back to camera to find that 2 or 3 screens have switched off. And that stands out like a sore thumb in any photo.

After all that there`s the task of post processing and Photoshop to make sure the light,contrast,colour etc etc are all as perfect as possible.