Portraits
Studio and environmental portrait sessions, headshots and model/actor portfolios, with a mounted 10x8 print included.
Explore portraits ↗Customer feedback and an independent overview of Merv Spencer Photography, a Belper-based portrait, photo restoration and branding photographer covering Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire.
Merv Spencer Photography advertises four core services from a home studio in Belper, with over 30 years' experience in the photographic industry.
Studio and environmental portrait sessions, headshots and model/actor portfolios, with a mounted 10x8 print included.
Explore portraits ↗High-resolution scanning and restoration of damaged, torn or faded photographs, with digital or professionally printed delivery.
Explore restoration ↗A "Right First Time" mobile passport photo service covering UK and overseas passports, driving licences and other ID photos.
Explore passport photos ↗Brand and commercial photography packages for businesses, from a one-hour mini session up to a full-day Brand-Day shoot.
Explore branding ↗There's no formal accreditation body for portrait photographers, so these are the independent, checkable sources behind this profile.

Experience in the photographic industry, per Merv's own about page, previously working under Field Photographic and Video-graph Photographers.
100% recommend rating from 112 reviews, with around 3,000 followers.
View on Facebook ↗Trades as a sole trader. A previous limited company of the same name was dissolved in 2019 and is not currently active.
Reviews sourced from Merv Spencer Photography's Google Business Profile repeatedly praise a friendly, relaxed manner and the quality of photo restoration work.
Google's listing holds 75 reviews in total. These are the 65 that include written text; the remaining reviews are star ratings only, with no comment attached. Read them all on Google ↗
“I was a model at a group wedding shoot on Wednesday and Merv was one of the photographers. Merv is a wonderful photographer, he's supadupa friendly, chatty and relaxed. He has some fab creative ideas and supported my own creative ideas…”
“I asked Merv to restore an old wedding photo from approx 100 years ago of my grandparents' wedding photo. It was in a bad way but Merv has done an amazing renovation.”
“Merv was a pleasure to do business with. He restored my old photo and kept me up to date during the whole process. Would definitely recommend.”
“We booked Merv for our wedding photographer and he was absolutely brilliant from start to finish! Even though we had to move our date and venue due to Covid, Merv was flexible and understanding, nothing was too much trouble…”
“Merv is just fantastic! He's one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. He's professional but so lovely at the same time. Nothing is too much trouble. His photography skills are great and the end result is brilliant!…”
“I've known Merv for many years now. He's taken a few family portraits for us; was our wedding photographer; and that of other family members. Merv is the best! I asked Merv to work his magic and restore an old photograph of my Grandparents…”
“Merv was professional, polite, helpful & just dam right amazing! He helped from start to finish & completed all editing within days of our wedding. Merv's a truly lovely guy & he went above & beyond for us!…”
“Merv did our wedding a week ago at Hurt Arms. We had to change our wedding twice due to COVID & Merv sent a diary out so we could see what dates were available & liaise with other people to make sure we could get our final date sorted…”
“Merv is a fantastic photographer with a love for people, and you can see this not only in his personality but in his work too. He and Matt photographed our wedding and the results were outstanding! Merv has also done us a numerous portraits…”
“Merv was excellent during our recent visit to his studio, with him being able to capture some fantastic photos of our two children and also some family ones. Throughout the whole experience Merv was extremely accommodating and friendly…”
“Great family photographer! Merv was the photographer at a Christmas event in our town and took some great shots! Really nice chap and great online site which is easy to use and order photos on. Many thanks Merv”
“Merv is amazing. He photographed our wedding and I can't recommend him highly enough. He made our day so special and put everyone at ease. The photos were absolutely amazing.”
“I would like to thank Merv for the excellent service & brilliant pics of our family portrait session & of course our wedding day! Merv was great at organising everybody for the photos that we had requested…”
“Merv Spencer you are such a lovely man and so talented. Merv has restored my Mums old wedding photograph which was significantly damaged. The work he did on reproduction of it was outstanding and made Mum cry when I gave it to her. Thank you Merv I would definitely recommend 100%”
“Following our wonderful wedding experience with Merv we have finally managed to get our family portrait session done. As expected this was also a great experience, he put us all at ease…”
“Merv is fantastic - he makes every effort to ensure that he gets the most amazing pictures that can be cherished for life. He is professional, super organised and has great attention to detail…”
“It is always a pleasure to visit Merv. I had my first set of actor's head shots taken by Merv in 2016 and have just had an updated shoot: our third time working together…”
“Excellent, friendly service from Merv Spencer who was able to digitally enhance a favourite black and white poster of mine which had been damaged when moving house…”
“Merv is able to make people relax and feel less self-conscious. I needed a portrait, for a birthday gift, at short notice and he delivered with plenty of time to spare. I have no hesitation in recommending Merv Spencer Photography.”
“Wedding picture. Mervyn took the pictures at our recent wedding. He organised the guests for group pictures and also took unstaged photos…”
“Merv did the photos for our wedding. He completely put Paul and I at our ease and helped to make our day even more fantastic. He was fantastic with all our guests. We were completely delighted by the photos that he took on the day. We would thoroughly recommend him.”
“Merv is an absolute star. Not only did he fit in a very last minute shoot, he was a true professional. The images couldn't be anymore perfect. He made everyone feel at ease, we had some laughs and most importantly we captured the most amazing memories from his shoot.”
“Had a family photograph from 1914 which had gone milky and had lost a lot of its features. After a recommendation, I met with Merv who went through lots of options. From start to finish Merv kept me informed with pictures and messages…”
“Merv made part of our Wedding day! Merv put us at ease in front of the camera, on such an important day with lots of faces staring at us, that's exactly what we needed. Merv always remained professional…”
“Great picture printed by Merv, from a very old one, with damage. More than pleased with the result. Previous to finding Merv, we had tried two other companies, both of which couldn't help…”
“Merv recently did our wedding photos. We wouldn't have chosen anyone else to photograph our special day as we've known Merv for years. From start to finish everything was perfect…”
“We had a family photoshoot with Merv, two separate families, 6 kids in total! Merv was incredible with all the kids and we were blown away with the results! Such a positive, laid back experience and Merv was so friendly!!”
“This is the second furbaby we have had Merv do their portrait, absolutely brilliant photo shoot, Merv puts your furbaby truly at ease, captures every pose. These photos make lovely memories.”
“From start to finish Mervin did a fantastic job, unbelievably enthusiastic, passionate and knows his job inside out. I would recommend him to anyone who wants a perfect day for a wedding or any other type of photographs required…”
“Merv did a fantastic job restoring a very precious photograph. It now looks like it was taken yesterday, not 70 years ago! I'll certainly recommend him, he is a caring, cheerful, very professional person.”
“Wanted passport photos and 2 copies of a very old photograph of myself and my sister when we were very young, but the photo we had wasn't in the best of condition, faded and blemished…”
“Merv did me some photos for a magazine shoot a few years ago and some family photos since…”
“Merv did a studio shoot of my little girl, he made us feel comfortable and at ease. Didn't rush, and was very patient with her. The photos are absolutely perfect! Thanks again, will be returning!”
“We recently had a family photoshoot with Merv Spencer and I cannot recommend him enough! Our final photographs are beautiful, and he was amazing with our 1 year old.”
“I recently asked Merv to regenerate some old photos and they came back perfect! Merv always goes the extra mile and is a pleasure to work with. Couldn't recommend enough!”
“Merv did some great shots of the staff for our website and social media profiles, instead of the usual head against a white background he managed to get some really professional natural looking shots…”
“Amazing experience for my girls. Merv has people skills and is ever so professional. Will definitely recommend and will be going back to do family pics!”
“Fantastic service. Came to the house to take digital passport photos for my elderly in-laws which made the process extremely straight forward. Highly recommend Merv Spencer”
“I was in need of a professional headshot image and I am very happy with the outcome. The experience was pleasant and relaxed. I will be returning in future for family photos and recommend highly.”
“Merv performed miracles on 2 amateur photographs of our family groups and created 2 very professional looking photographs at an extremely reasonable cost and with a quick completion date!”
“Merv was very professional and made us feel really welcome and comfortable. Looking forward to seeing how the photos turn out.”
“What a great experience we had at our photo shoot with Merv. He made us feel relaxed from the very first time we arrived; we are so pleased with our photos and DVD. Would recommend a photo shoot to anyone, ours was a gift…”
“Merv was brilliant from start to finish with our whole wedding. I couldn't recommend him enough! Thank you”
“Merv is excellent, we took our newborn to him and everything was relaxed and enjoyable. We will always use him for any photos…”
“Very happy with the service and speed provided, friendly and helpful and went out of his way to make sure the picture was to the highest possible quality. I would highly recommend to anyone.”
“We are delighted with the first class restoration of our photos. Excellent communication. Reasonably priced. Highly recommend.”
“Merv was really helpful in restoring some old photos for me. Great service and he even delivered them back to me personally!”
“Went to get my passport photos done with Merv, great quick professional service and very reasonable price compared to how much the photo booths charge. Happily recommend.”
“We had Merv for our wedding back in August last year, very professional and friendly guy! Easy going and helpful with everything! Would very highly recommend Merv to anyone.”
“Got my passport photo done - photographer was friendly and competent, prices were good, no waiting time, really can't fault anything about this.”
“Love working with Merv, he is always a pleasure to work with.”
“Fabulous service. I had an old photo restored, Merv did a great job.”
“Merv offers a brilliant service, he is friendly, and he does a great job.”
“Very kind and helpful with my online passport photo. Great wedding photographer, would highly recommend.”
“Lovely funny guy who helps you feel at ease while having your photo taken, definitely recommend him.”
“Excellent service from Merv. Lovely passport photos and a super speedy service.”
“Wow, great service. Quick and efficient with a perfect finished product. Will use again in the future.”
“Lovely friendly person, great photographer, would highly recommend.”
“Quality ….. highly recommended, great service at affordable prices.”
“Very helpful, fantastic prints, willing to work with you.”
“Very professional, and a nice bloke.”
“Great place for a family portrait.”
“#supadupa Very helpful and pleasant.”
“Great job.”
“Absolutely beautiful.”
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These businesses offer overlapping portrait, family or photo-restoration services across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire, and are included as comparison options, not ranked recommendations.
Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire wedding and portrait photography, based in Ripley.
Portrait, commercial and wedding photography based in Belper.
Long-established Derby portrait studio, trading since 1852.
Wedding photography and videography across Derbyshire.
Studio family, newborn and pet portraits in Derby.
Yes. A mobile "Right First Time" passport photo service is advertised for £25, with Merv travelling to your home or a chosen location.
The business is studio-based in Belper, Derbyshire, and advertises coverage across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire.
Studio and environmental sessions are advertised from £50, including a mounted 10x8 print, with a £195 digital download package also available.
No. Merv has stepped away from wedding photography to focus on portraits, restoration and branding, though the company says it can refer enquirers to other wedding photographers.
Photographs are scanned at high resolution and restored in-house, with a proof sent for approval before digital or professional print delivery.
No. All restoration is done by hand using Photoshop and similar tools, not AI. The skills behind it are self-taught, with Merv continuing to learn new techniques and approaches over time.
No. The business currently trades as a sole trader. A previous limited company using the name was dissolved on 9 April 2019 and is not the entity currently trading.
Advertised packages start at £195 for a one-hour Mini Session, rising to £395 for Brand-3 and from £995 for a full-day Brand-Day shoot.
The Google Business Profile shows 5.0 out of 5 from 75 reviews, and Facebook shows a 100% recommend rating from 112 reviews.
36 Morrell Wood Drive
Belper, Derbyshire, DE56 0JD
Trades as a sole trader. Not currently a registered limited company; a previous company of the same name was dissolved in April 2019.
07970 187728
info@mervspencerphotography.co.uk
mervspencerphotography.co.uk