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Sue and Gary Williams interviewed by Charlotte Moss - part 2 of 1 2

Published 01/12/2013

Everyone has a reason that they love photographing weddings and for Gary it's all about the excitement of the day. 'I get such a buzz from shooting weddings. Everything about a wedding is exciting, from the people, to the mixture of emotions. One minute you'll get people laughing their heads off and then you get the tears.' But of course no one becomes a photographer for entirely selfish reasons and Gary also loves seeing the pleasure that others get from his and Sue's work. 'I like making people happy. In fact, I just like happy people! I love the fact that through photography I can actually help people to feel much better about themselves.' Going into social photography often requires a certain type of personality and some serious likeability, something that Gary is not short of. 'I have a wicked sense of humour. I suppose if I had not been a photographer I would have loved to become a comedian, but I can never remember enough jokes. I'd have been anything on stage really, just not sweeping it!'

Gary and Sue are both classically trained photographers with many years of experience between them. Hardly anything can disconcert them on a wedding day anymore. 'We've adapted our classical training to modern digital cameras; our experience means we don't have to spend excess time in front of a computer. That's what makes our pictures different. We know about how to shape people with lighting, pose them and so forth, and these things come automatically now, meaning that we can just concentrate on getting great expressions from our clients.'

Of course it always helps having two people on the day to make sure that no crucial moments are missed. 'While I am setting up the big shots during the day, Sue is cherry picking those beautiful moments that people consider to be completely natural,' Gary tells me. 'They tell the story of the day. So while we're photographing roughly the same things, the look and the feel is completely different to our shots which gives the clients more choice afterwards.' However, even though Gary and Sue have been working together as a team in their business for many years, that doesn't mean that there isn't any rivalry between the two of them. 'It's one of my standing jokes that there's only one thing wrong with our great pictures, and that's the fact that Sue took them!'

It wasn't always the two of them in business together; initially it was just Gary while Sue worked as a very successful hairdresser. 'Sue came into the business after assisting me on a wedding. She kept saying to me: "Look what's happening over there!" while I was photographing something else. So I bought her a little camera, one that actually I quite fancied myself, and told her to take some pictures at the next wedding. The pictures all sold and that was where it started, now she's most certainly the boss!'

Making more money out of your work

Gary and Sue are true veterans of the Convention, having spoken around half a dozen times in the past. 'We both love it to bits,' Gary tells me. 'It's our chance to share with people and give a little bit of an insight into how we run our business. Every single thing that we say and do is what we say and do in every day of our lives. If there's something that's working for me then I love to talk about it.'

Running a business and being a photographer in the UK comes with its own particular set of challenges to navigate. The locations, the weather, the lighting conditions, they all impact on how UK photographers must approach a wedding day. 'I try to shoot available light whenever possible, but there are times when natural is not flattering. In this day and age we have to push the boundaries for certain shots and make ours a little better than the guests that are also taking photographs, which means adapting to the circumstances.'

There will be very few photographers who have not felt the squeeze of the recession that the UK has found itself in. Keeping as much money in your own pockets as possible is an essential skill for all business people. This Masterclass is one that should not be overlooked if you want to improve your bottom line in these difficult times.

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1st Published 01/12/2013
last update 09/12/2022 14:59:29

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