UNP Team – Picture Desk, Leadership & UK Photographer Network
The UNP team is built on people, not platforms. Picture editors, coordinators and photographers who care about their craft, understand deadlines and treat everyone they meet with professionalism and kindness.
Behind every assignment is a calm team at the Picture Desk, a small leadership group and a network of 60+ experienced photographers across the UK. Together, they keep national press, PR and corporate work running smoothly – even on complex, multi-location days.
Many of the people in our core team have worked together for a decade or more. That continuity is a big part of why clients stay with UNP.
How we work together
UNP team – the people behind every assignment
Every job touches three core parts of how we work: leadership, the Picture Desk and the photographer network. Each plays a different role, but they share the same priorities – clarity, reliability and a human way of working.
Editorial roots, long-term focus
UNP was founded by a picture editor and is still led day-to-day with the same mindset: clear storytelling, reliable delivery and respectful collaboration with clients, subjects and photographers alike.
The calm centre of operations
The Picture Desk allocates photographers, manages logistics, handles brief details and keeps you updated. Clients often describe the team as “part of our organisation” – especially on complex or time-sensitive projects.
Local knowledge, national reach
Our 60+ photographers work across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Many have been with UNP for over a decade, bringing deep experience in press, PR, corporate, industrial, healthcare and public-sector work.
Professional and kind, on every job
From CEOs and frontline staff to local communities and vulnerable groups, our team understands how to read a room, put people at ease and represent your organisation well from first hello to final frame.
No surprises, no drama
The Picture Desk stays close to timings, logistics and any last-minute changes. You know who is coming, when they will arrive and when to expect your files – with clear updates along the way.
Relationships that last
Many clients ask for the same photographers and Picture Desk contacts by name. That continuity builds trust and makes each new assignment smoother than the last.
Leadership & picture desk
The editorial mindset behind UNP
UNP was founded by Hamlet Mejloumian, a picture editor by background, in 1997. His aim was to build a nationwide photographer network guided by editorial standards, not just logistics – and to keep the Picture Desk at the heart of every job.
Today, that ethos continues. Every assignment, no matter how straightforward or complex, passes through a calm, experienced Picture Desk. They match the brief with the right photographer, clarify any grey areas and ensure nothing important gets lost between diary, location and final delivery.
For many clients, this is the part they value most: people they know by name, who remember how they like to work and who take pressure off on busy days.
Network
A trusted photographer network across the UK
UNP works with more than 60 photographers across the UK – from major cities to smaller towns. Many have collaborated with us for over a decade, and several have been with the agency since its early years.
Every photographer is carefully selected for their editorial discipline, reliability and people skills. We look for:
- Strong storytelling and composition under real-world time pressure
- Comfort working with CEOs, frontline teams and the public
- Professionalism on-site – representing your brand as well as their own
- Deadline awareness and experience of working to newsroom-style timings
- Consistency of quality, so imagery fits comfortably alongside your existing brand work
This network is what enables UNP to deliver coordinated, multi-location shoots – often on the same day – without clients needing to brief multiple suppliers.
For a wider view of professional standards in UK photography, you can also refer to organisations such as the BPPA and NUJ.
Next steps
Work with the UNP team
Whether you are planning a one-off launch, a rolling headshot programme or a multi-location campaign, the same core people will look after you – from first enquiry to final files.
Trust & continuity
Why Clients Stay with UNP
See the themes that come up again and again in client feedback – reliability, consistency and a genuinely human way of working.
Background
About UNP
Learn how UNP grew from a regional alternative in 1997 into a nationwide, picture-desk-led photographer network.
Join us
Careers & opportunities
Find out more about working with UNP – as a photographer, coordinator or partner – as new roles and briefs arise.
Ready for your next story?
Let’s work together.
Share your brief with our central Picture Desk and we’ll match it to the right photographer, location and timing – then manage everything from first call to final, press-ready delivery.