Hello, and welcome to Photography by Bond! I’m Bondy, and this is not only the first blog for my brand new shiny website, it is my first blog…EVER! So excuse me if I start to ramble, hopefully you will find it interesting enough to continue reading.
I guess really I just want to introduce myself and get started on my journey into becoming a self employed photographer and all the ups and downs that come with it!
Before I go straight into THAT, let me first tell you a bit about HOW I came to this point…
I had never thought about photography all that much as a child, sure I liked taking photographs, but it had never really been an all consuming passion. My dream was to become a journalist and travel the world writing stories about all the things I saw and did and, well, get paid for it! I have always loved the written word and so to do a job based around being able to write and natter (another of my favourite things) to people from all walks of life learning about their lives was very appealing to me.
After leaving school, I decided that based on these passions of mine, studying media would be the way to go. One of the subjects was photography! A HA! I hear you scream, finger pointed to the air.
Yep, that was where it all began…
I have to say that, for me, stepping into the darkroom was the moment I became truly captivated by photography. This mixture of chemicals in a quiet, dark room and suddenly, that thing you saw, that you snapped with your (back then) 35mm film SLR suddenly begins to appear, as if by magic, thus thrusting you back to the moment it was taken. That was it, I was officially hooked. Once sucked in by that, I began to find myself immersed in all things photography. Composition, lighting, subject, mood…the list goes on and on with photography. There is so much to learn and so much to consider. It can be either solitary or social. And there are constantly new and wonderful things to photograph.
For the next few years, photography was what I studied. (And STILL study!) After taking a year out to work and save some cash, I was lucky enough to land my first photography job. It was as a studio portrait photographer for a studio back up in the Midlands where I am originally from and I was SO delighted to be able to call myself a photographer. (My actual job title was ‘Floater’ as I had to travel around all the studios across the midlands covering for other photographers’ sick days/holidays etc….glamorous title eh?!) The reality was that really, I was a glorified button pusher; the button in question operated the shutter on a huge remote controlled camera that was like something from the 1960’s. It was, in fact, 2003 and we were on the cusp of digital photography (that makes me feel old) so the big, old school, remote camera was soon replaced by a new, MUCH smaller, shiny digital SLR.
I stayed with that company for a year before being offered my next photography job. It was still studio portraiture, but this time a lot more creative, a lot more fun, and a lot of training. I LOVED it. I was in my element. I felt as though I was really starting to be able to express myself in my work. I had more freedom to develop (s’cuse the pun) a style of my own, albeit for a corporate company. I stayed with them for 5 years, having worked my way up to style director and training all the new photographers who joined the studio in which I worked. I met some amazing people, a lot of who I am still very close to now. Two of them even designed this very fine website of mine! And I learned a lot about photography. More so, I realised that it wasn’t just photographing STUFF, it was photographing PEOPLE. Talking to them, getting to know them, and making a photograph of them that wasn’t just about the way they looked. My love of talking to people way back when I wanted to be a journalist was playing it’s part in my passion, and now my career, of photography.
So what happened after those 5 years? Well, I had now been down south living in Brighton for 4 years and an opportunity came along to work for a smaller, independent studio. With this studio, it wasn’t just studio portraits I would be doing, but also weddings as well. I would be lying if I said that I enjoyed my first wedding. I didn’t, I found it incredibly stressful and nerve-racking. I was out of my comfort zone studio in the big bad world and I was terrified I was going to mess it up. But as one wedding turned into two, and then another, and another I realised that in a way, those feelings of nervousness were excitement. Every wedding was a new challenge with new people and new places. Not to mention that I was getting to share people’s most romantic day! It was then that I realised I wanted to break away from the walls of studio shooting and start taking in some more of what the world had to offer. Another 5 years had sped by and I was getting itchy feet. I began to do more of my own shoots, outside of work, sourcing new places to shoot in with new ideas. I really began stylising the way I photograph.
The leap to go solo is a big one. Whilst I have loved and continue to love the work I do in a studio, I need to spread my wings. To be my own person and to be recognised in my own right. I am more passionate about my photography work now than ever before and I want to channel that energy into something that is mine and mine alone. I hope that I can make it work; after all, running a photography business isn’t just about taking pretty pictures. There is a lot to learn. But it’s time for me to take the next step.
So I’ll hold my breath….and jump….
