Ross Clayton is a freelance photographer based in the Bay of Plenty specialising in editorial, event, portrait, commercial, law, and medical photography.

He’s a proud member of the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photography (NZIPP) and is highly recognised in New Zealand and abroad for his client-oriented service that delivers quality results on time, every time.

With 30 years of photography experience under his belt, Ross has a knack for developing a rapport with clients from all walks of life.

For many years, Ross has worked with Court Staff, High Court Judges, Queens Counsels, and a wide cross-section of cultures when photographing candidates being admitted to The Bar (the final step for law graduates). Ross is known for going above and beyond to provide special, lasting memories of a law candidate’s big day, offering quality print and digital files to proud families.

Between law admissions, Ross switches between his various areas of photography expertise with ease and also owns and operates a separate medical photography service - Skin Imaging Photography www.skinimaging.co.nz which exists to support dermatologists in the fight against melanoma.

Career  Overview

• Manager Medical  Photography  and illustrations  Department,  Waikato Hospital

• Manager   of the Teaching Resources Unit,  Waikato Polytechnic (WINTEC)

• Senior Medical Photographer, Princes  Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane Queensland Australia., where he photographed the very first liver transplant in Australia (and he still smiles at the irony of a Kiwi photographer being given such an honour!).

• Director of the Audio-Visual Learning Unit, Wellington Hospital  and the School  of Medicine (NZ).
• Senior Photographer, Campus Photography, the University of Waikato, Hamilton (NZ).
• Ross photographed the first law admissions ceremony at the Hamilton High Court, and has since covered hundreds of events from Admissions of Queens Counsels to the Inner Bar to the opening of the PA Research Foundation in Brisbane.
• In 2016, Ross assisted to set up the medical photography service at Australia’s largest specialist paediatric hospital, Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in Brisbane.

In 2020 Ross Clayton is successfully running two businesses from his base at Mount  Maunganui, Tauranga, New Zealand. These are, Ross Clayton Photography and Skin Imaging Photography - a private medical photography service to prevent people with suspicious moles (atypical naevi) from remaining undetected - from Mount Maunganui, the beautiful coastal town he now calls home. Ross loves the Bay of Plenty’s relaxed, beachy lifestyle and all the region has to offer, but still offers clinics in Auckland for Skin Imaging Photography clients.

Accolades, conferences & continued learning

• Awarded University of Waikato General Staff Award
• Attendance at BPA (Biological Photographic Association) Conference, Tampa, US
• Attendance at various photography seminars including Dean Collins (Sydney), David Oliver (Sydney) and Peter Coulson (Melbourne)
• Presentation of papers at AIMBI national conferences and 3rd World Congress of Medical and Scientific Imaging, Cairns, Australia
• Chairperson for Annual NZIPP conference, Tauranga

Career highlights

Ross has a passion for law photography and medical photography. His lifestyle images have featured in various exhibitions (from Tauranga Jazz Festival to Auckland Festival of Photography) and publications (UNO. magazine, Trends magazine and the Cancer Society’s 20th Anniversary Daffodil Day book to name a few). He’s also photographed a variety of events over the years, from weddings and parties to the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Ross Clayton Photography creates images in the operating theatre of the first Australian liver transplant featured in every national newspaper (with copies archived in the National Museum in Canberra), and his images of the late Hirini Melbourne and Richard Nunns were front and centre of the Nguru exhibition at New Zealand’s national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa.

Perhaps his proudest piece of work, however, is the official portrait of the late Tainui Maori Queen, Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu. Ross shot the official portrait at her home after she was awarded her Honorary Degree. This portrait adorned the walls of many government departments, and was the first portrait taken of the Maori Queen in over 25 years.