Ellie Wainwright Photography

12/08/2024

Very excited to see a 7 page spread about the in yesterday. My first big piece of national coverage in print 🤓

In the making for months, this piece took me from Bristol, to Poole, to Falmouth and Chiswick, spending time with inspiring crew members and interesting (sometimes challenging!) journalists and photographers.

While the piece doesn’t shy away from some of the more controversial topics, it’s fair and balanced. It also features a nice nod to the comms team role: “unlike its multimillion-pound ALBs, the RNLI has no self-righting mechanism. If it starts to list reputationally, there’s no guarantee it won’t go under.”

Feeling very proud today to be learning the ropes in a busy PR and comms team for one of the most respected and important charities in the world 😎

25/07/2024

World Drowning Prevention Day 2024.

An opportunity to highlight the impact of drowning on families and communities around the world, and offer life-saving solutions to prevent it. Drowning is a silent epidemic that claims an estimated 236,000 people every year and is among the ten leading causes of death for children aged 5-14 years.

I feel proud to work for a charity that does amazing work on water safety and drowning prevention, issues very close to my heart. Every summer, the and help thousands of children stay safe on the beach through free Swim Safe sessions. The RNLI also provide water safety education visits and offer water safety advice through campaigns like Float to Live, all year round.

The RNLI has been working internationally on drowning prevention for over 10 years, drawing on 200 years of lifesaving experience within the UK and Ireland. The charity aims to be a catalyst for drowning prevention, working with partners globally and in countries where drowning is a significant problem, to raise awareness, widen the research base and identify solutions to save more lives.

1: 📸 my me, taken from the reef, working on a community outreach programme in the South Ari Atoll, Maldives with the

2: In 2000, eight RNLI volunteers travelled to Mozambique with seven D class lifeboats to provide medical relief to 10,000 people in villages isolated by floodwaters after days of heavy rainfall.

3: In Bangladesh, 40 children die every day due to drowning. The RNLI supports the SwimSafe project, with swim instructors teaching swimming skills to children.

4, 5 & 6: Volunteering in Sri Lanka with at a swim and surf lesson for local women and girls, 📸 by me.

7: In 2021 the RNLI helped secure the first ever United Nations Resolution on Global Drowning Prevention. The Resolution also established World Drowning Prevention Day, which is now marked annually on 25 July!

8: Lifeguarding with my bestie 💖

For more info:
https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-drowning-prevention-day
https://rnli.org/safety/float
https://rnli.org/what-we-do/international/lifesaving-interventions

15/07/2024

always in awe of our mother

shot on film taking it all in, by the lovely 💫

10/07/2024

Japan on film (3/3)

10/07/2024

Japan on film (2/3)

10/07/2024

Japan on film (1/3)

17/05/2024

Last week I completed my NVBLQ and re-qualified as a lifeguard🫡

We had a week of sun and waves and it reminded me of all those summers I spent lifeguarding on Pembrokeshire beaches. I even miss the stormy days!

Looking forward to putting my skills to use this summer at alongside my role with the - what a dreamy combo 😎

Thanks for a fun and intense week!

15/03/2024

The Power of Storytelling 🦈

Today I spoke to a room full of students from year 7 > year 13 about my career so far 🤯

I did not take the “correct” route into industry, I am by no means a “scientist” and I’ve done countless other jobs from waitressing and bar work, to writing for my local paper, to beach lifeguarding and even bat surveying 🦇

Each of these jobs have equipped me with invaluable, diverse skills and made me more flexible and able to move around in careers and companies that I care about.

People protect what they care about and storytelling is a powerful tool to inspire people to care and take action - in my case: protect the natural world.

Women are still underrepresented in STEM and in TV, and I really hope that I inspired even one, to know that this is absolutely a career that can be achieved, and that your life doesn’t end when you pick your A Levels!

Thanks 4 coming to my Ted Talk ✌🏻

09/02/2024

So excited to have joined the this week on the National Media Engagement team 🌊

From being a Senior RNLI Beach Lifeguard, to going freelance with my photography, to a masters in documentary film and 3 years in the TV industry, it feels like I’ve come full circle.

Cannot wait to see what the next year has in store!

25/01/2024

If you look for them, you might just find that bugs, actually are, all around 🐞🪲🦋🕷️💛

The most fun experience working on this series and learning from some incredibly talented people.

If you haven’t already, go watch the first 5 eps of A Real Bug’s Life, streaming now on and

09/01/2024

Searching for sharks 🦈

06/11/2023

Keep your eyes peeled for this coming out on Nat Geo and Disney+ on January 24th. Was taken under the wing (🦋) of and got some second camera experience on the BTS episode, pushed my shooting skills and massively increased my confidence. It’s so important to have someone believe in you, and feels especially important when it’s another woman in a male dominated industry 💪🏼
This series is really incredible and I can’t wait for you all to see it! I worked with some really inspiring people and I’m a massive bug fan now 🦋🐞🐛

27/09/2023

spending the week underwater with 💙

25/09/2023

Dived with so many thresher sharks today!!!! 🦈

- awful photos that don’t do these beauties justice, at some points there were up to 10 sharks swimming around us and they got super close whilst we just hovered and watched in awe! unbelievable experience with 💙

22/09/2023

📍📸 travelling around and snapping away in Japan

05/09/2023

Plunging into the depths of Vobster
- spent 6 months of early morning diving here at the start of the year. Excited to be getting out into some warmer waters soon, and encountering marine life other than the white clawed crayfish in this quarry (although they are pretty special too) 🦐

11/08/2023

On shoot w/ Plimsoll 🌿💛

11/08/2023

Thank you for the best 2.5 years 💛 - the start of my career in TV, and so many wonderful friendships. Grateful to everyone who has supported me and believed in me along the way.
➡️ onto the next adventure!

09/02/2023

Please share and donate if you are able!

EMERGENCY : 7.8 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE STRIKES TURKEY AND SYRIA Please donate: https://donate.chooselove.org/campaigns/emergency-earthquake-appeal/ Today at approx 4.17am local time, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria. The epicentre of the earthquake was near the city of Gazientep in T...

15/01/2023

Nature is at its best when it changes.
We all are. 🌦🪷🌞

Maldives on film 🎞 (2/3)

29/09/2022

Don’t be deceived, the actual visibility was 2 meters max! Although managed to get this lovely pic of a lobster in the shallows 🦞

Swipe to the last pic to see us diving on another planet 👽

Taken whilst assisting on the Advanced Open Water course for my Dive Master with a couple of weeks ago 🤿

22/09/2022

Super Natural is out now on 💫

It was so much fun to help out on location for the peregrine falcon shoot in the Bloodlines episode of this. It was great to work with such a talented crew and have my first experience on a VFX shoot. Well done to all the team for producing such a new and exciting series!

(All the episodes are wonderful - this beautiful octopus is one of my favourites 🐙)

08/09/2022

France on 2/2

Shot with Kodak Ektar 100 35mm Film on my Canon AE-1. I love the 50mm lens on this camera and some of these images show that crisp focus 🧊 - others aren’t quite there, but that’s the beauty of film and all it’s imperfections!