Ormerod was born in 1985 in Scotland.^[1] He grew up in Aberdeen.^[3] In 2010 he completed a NCTJ press photography course at Norton College in Sheffield and in 2007 gained a BA in journalism from the University of Stirling.^[4]

He has made work about pigeon fanciers in Glasgow and Edinburgh who practice "doo fleein'", the "doomen" and "doowomen" who lure another enthusiast's male bird using a female;^[5][6][7] people in dance halls at community centres in Edinburgh;^[3] Scottish independence in the lead up to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum through a reenactment of the Battle of Bannockburn^[8] and people he found while travelling along the M8 motorway between Edinburgh and Glasgow;^[9] politically engaged young Scots in the period after Scotland decided against independence from the UK in the 2014 referendum and since the 2016 vote in favour of Brexit;^[10] and households using their gardens whilst under lockdown in Edinburgh, during the COVID-19 pandemic, photographed from above using an aerial camera.^[2]

Ormerod's long-term project about space enthusiasts, Above Us the Day,^[11][12][13] has involved photographing the mythology around UFO sightings on a road trip from Roswell, New Mexico (sight of the Roswell UFO incident) to Area 51 in Nevada, USA;^[14][15] amateur rocket builders at events in the Highlands of Scotland^[16] and Nevada;^[17] moonscapes and people who chase the northern lights, made while travelling around Iceland's Ring Road, Route 1;^[18] and attendees of Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students.^[19]

He lives in Edinburgh.^[2]

• Official website
• "The rocket men – in pictures" at The Guardian