Originally founded in 1951 as the Photo-News Service, the Photo Centre in Berwick was a staple of town life for over 65 years as a family-run press agency and photo studio.

Their premises at 17 Bridge Street had a well-equipped studio above the shop where commercial photography took place. The business also covered newsworthy events in the area and recorded family occasions and celebrations, marking milestones in the lives of several generations of townspeople.

The first photograph (BRO 1944/2/88/7), taken in 1965 is a portrait of Mrs Matthews and her dog sitting on Berwick Quayside with Berwick’s iconic bridges in the background.

The second photograph, (BRO 1944/2/2211/A/17), taken in 1975 is a studio photo of the Burns children.

The third photograph (BRO 1944/2/2067/13), taken in mid 1975 is the wedding of Carole Hartley and Robert Marshall.

The 1960s was a great period of change in fashion. Austerity was over and the “Swinging Sixties” had arrived. This was a time when people had more money to spend, allowing teenagers and young people to develop their own style which is reflected in the fashion. At the beginning of the decade, young people followed the lead of people like Twiggy and Mary Quant who favoured mini skirts, flat shoes and loose knitwear. The working woman and older women preferred the style of Jackie Kennedy Onassis, the wife of President Kennedy – shift dresses with matching jackets and accessories – hats and bags. All this had changed again by the end of the 1960s with the influence of the hippies and the flower power movement. Flares or bell bottoms as they were known were now the shape of trousers and dresses and clothes became floaty and long.

The 1970s introduced yet more changes and styles in fashion giving everyone even more options of how they could dress. At the beginning of the 1970s, platform shoes and “hot pants” were very popular, often in shiny fabric. All things denim became very popular – jeans, skirts, jackets and dungarees – and by the mid 1970s the peasant look had arrived – maxi or midi tiered skirts with floaty tops and wedge shoes. Other styles available were disco and punk, reflecting the music of the time. During this decade clothes were becoming more affordable, available in chain stores such as Topshop, C & A and in Ireland, Penneys, the original name for Primark.

Portraiture, or portrait photography, is one of the most common types of photography. In a portrait, the photograph captures the subject, for example a person or group of people, in a way that the face, facial features and facial expressions are made prominent. This does not mean that only the face and head can be visible in a portrait, a portrait can contain the subject’s full body.

A portrait photograph may be artistic, posed or candid, and can be taken in any environment, such as in a studio, outdoors or on location, and can be taken using studio lighting or natural/available light. Portraits can also fall into sub-genres, such as traditional portraits; family or pet portraits; wedding photographs; environmental portraiture – photographing the subject in their natural environment such as their workplace; fashion portraits; self-portraits; commercial portraits; headshots such as passport photographs or professional portraits used by actors; conceptual and fine art portraits.