Shop front from February 1997 - 83 Station Road East, Oxted, Surrey. The lettering, by a local master craftsman, was created by hand direct to the perspex.

SMS Creative Photography was born on Monday 10th February 1997 at number 83 Station Road East, Oxted!

That makes it 25 years ago - a quarter of a century! So much has changed and happened since then – notably the evolution of photography and the introduction of digital photography for the masses. We went fully digital in 2005 and have embraced the changes ever since.

In August 2019 after 23 years on the high street, I moved away to work remotely embracing opportunities to photograph nationwide and overseas, as well as keeping a firm foothold in Oxted where I live and run the business from.

Thank you so much for all your support over the years, I could not have come this far without you. It has given me so much joy and pleasure to be able to create a business from something I just love – namely photographing people and the things they love and value. Such as their family, home & garden, business premises, headshots and so, so much more.

In 2012 I was commissioned to photograph a comprehensive classic and supercar collection to create provenance and a lasting memory for the owner to mark a special birthday. This commission led me into the automotive world, including photographing Formula One behind the scenes at the British Grand Prix.

As a result of this, in 2013 I created a new brand within SMS Creative Photography called ‘Stella – Lifestyle and Automotive Photography’. To see images from various automotive events including Formula One take a look at the website - stellascordellis.com

Seven times World Champion Lewis Hamilton at the British Grand Prix 2018 with fans during signing autographs.

It gives me even more pleasure to reconnect with so many of you to update your photographs from the very early days. Our ‘Then & Now’ page, on the SMS Creative Photography website, shows the passing of time – you can find it here.

If this idea appeals to you and you would like to recreate a picture from one that I have taken years ago, then please do get in touch – I’d love to hear from you!

Mother and son when he was six years old.

The same mother and son when he was 18 years old.

I continue to photograph portraits, family photo-shoots and celebrations, business headshots, and much more – feel free to explore the website.

Before you do this, I just want to let you know that I have been working on a personal project for posterity since January 2019, photographing the demolition of the gas holder that once sat in Oxted town for over 50 years.

There is a new housing development, nearing completion, on the site – built by St William part of the Berkeley Group. You can see and read the blogs I have written about the process from start to almost finished here – scroll to the bottom of the page under ‘Featured’ - there are 26 blogs so far in total with a couple more to follow to complete the journey due for completion at the end of March 2022.