Hey Will, how’s things?
Hey Meg, amazing thank you!
For those that don’t know tell us about yourself
Sure! I’m Will, a 28 year old freelance photographer, massive Manchester United fan (Manchester is red) - touring guitarist and ex Halo Pro from Manchester! Born n’ bred!
Did you always know you would be a photographer?
Absolutely not, I was always that guy on tour with my phone out taking pictures of things and the photographer we had out with us said I should get a camera with me taking pictures all the time, so when we got back home to the U.K I bought a Canon 200d as my first camera and never looked back since!
So you’re currently freelance, are you enjoying it?
Absolutely! While it has its hard and challenging moments I’d never change it for the world, I get to work with my favourite brands, childhood heroes and do things I never thought I would while having freedom to choose what I want to do.
Are there any unexpected challenges from being freelance?
For sure, sometimes you have a quiet month and you never know where your next slice of income will come from but that’s all part of the fun, encourages you to work harder and network further than where you’re comfortable.
Any advice to anyone looking to become a freelance photographer?
Something I wish I was told when I started: Take your time, find your niche that you know you’re absolutely comfortable in and focus on yourself, take advice sure but don’t let constructive criticism from others knock you out of your lane. Freelance is to me like a motorway that can’t decide whether or not it wants to be bumper to bumper or a free run for a few miles. Stay in your lane and you’ll get to where you want to be eventually, all about the journey.
Is it hard gaining a steady income?
Absolutely, at first it took me a few months of building relationships to even see myself break even per month. But the more you do, the more you receive. Word of mouth from clients to their friends and family is absolutely massive outside of Social Media. Where in truth, most of my work comes from Social Media or the Music World.
You have a mix of photography styles, is there a particular style that you enjoy the most?
I’m an absolute sucker for the neo-noir, Bladerunner/Cyberpunk world. With mostly all of my work I try my hardest to have a majority of colour popping through at you so you notice it.
Some of my biggest inspirations in photography/filmmaking are Liam Wong and Ridley Scott, their understanding of colour in every situation blows me away and inspires me everyday to elevate myself to the next level. (I’d highly recommend looking into any of Liams work, and Ridley’s work with both the Bladerunner movies!)
So how come photography?
Honestly, I can’t give a straight answer for that other than being able to look at something, visualize how the outcome will be and actually achieving that in the end product is such a rewarding feeling, plus you’re trapping memories forever. Which I think is quite nice.
If you weren’t a photographer what do you think you would be?
Ooooooh, honestly I’d love to be doing this forever BUT; either still be touring 24/7 or be a mechanic. My Granddad is a mechanic and taught me mostly everything I know in terms of life outside of the camera/music world so that! (plus I’m a filthy petrol head, love my bikes)
You use a mixture of film and digital. Do you have a favourite?
I love film for the raw vintage feeling you get when you have the scans back but I could never leave the digital side, you can push the limits with every edit and I find that amazing. Most of my work starts off quite boring but once I’ve edited them to my style I find them to be intriguing and immersive.
Talk to us about the name Blessuh.
Haha I get this a lot, so the name came from a rapper that I was on tour with years ago. He has a lyric where he says Bless Up and I said to him “are you saying Blessuh? What does that even mean?” And he turned to me with the biggest “What?” look on his face and said “I say bless up there, but that’s your name now so run with it.” And it’s been stuck with me ever since haha, I like how short and punchy it is and it's just one word, simple I guess!
Is there a project or client you have enjoyed working on the most?
This will sound so corny but genuinely every project I take on small or large is always as good as the last. But if I have to pick one or two I’d say so far working with WWE Legend; Chris Jericho for his band Fozzy on their UK tour last year. Definitely a surreal moment to be working with a childhood icon for me. And secondly working with Harley Davidson on their release of the new Sportster-S last year in The Cotswolds!
What are the things that get you out of the bed in the mornings?
Coffee, definitely coffee.
Who are your standout creatives?
My friends Jake Ruddick, Cal Mullen, Kya Banasko and Christian Patterson.They’re all absolutely incredible photographers who deserve so much more credit and attention than they get. All have their own style and vision that are second to non.
For my final question, whats next?
Whatever the world has in store for me I guess! I’d love to be able open a studio one day whether that’s a photo studio or an office space where I (and friends) can work from and chill etc. Something like Peter Mckinnon has! dudes a legend.
