Will Bremridge makes pictures

Another portrait of my friend and pro-snowboarder Rowan Biddiscombe. Shot for Ride Snowboards. 

Head/O’Neill Portraits

I was asked by the UK Head/O’Neill rep to take some portraits of their team members while I was out in Laax last week. I had about 15 minutes to get through the team so used a simple spotlight set up in the snow.

British Freestyle Ski/Snowboard Championships

I spent last week working for Soulsports shooting the The British freestyle Ski/Snowboard Championships. This year I was hired to shoot the Freeskiing including Halfpipe, Slopestyle, Big Air and Skiercross. All 4 events were really fun to shoot and I was blown away by the talent that is coming out of the UK right now. I saw 15 yr olds doing inverted 900s over a 20m tabletop jump. 5 yrs ago this would have been unheard of. 

Due to shooting the skiing, I didn’t get to watch any snowboarding sadly. Although I don’t have a picture, special mention must go to 13yr old Katie Ormerod for absolutely killing it in the snowboard Big Air. She was the only girl hitting the jumbo man-sized jump and won with a clean backside 720 (not a weird lanky one, a proper tucked/grabbed 720). Imagine being only 4ft 9” going 50mph into a 20m jump and then spinning off it. Expect X-Games gold medals from her within the next two yrs.

Here are some of my shots from what turned out to be a really fun week.

The bittersweet world of chasing your dream job…

I gave a lecture to some photography degree students last week about all this info below….

I’ve learned a huge amount about the world of photography in the last couple of years along with any other creative career. These kind of jobs require harder work than pretty much any standard office based job I can think of. Not while physically doing the job (i.e photography, acting, singing etc), its chasing the job and trying to make it constantly grow which is so hard. When I’m on a shoot, hanging out in a studio or location with a small crew of fun (and often beautiful) people I think I have the best job in the world but the work that goes into scoring these shoots can drive me insane.

There are so many resources for improving your photography but so few for how to actually make a living from it and find new clients. It is a constant cycle that you can never switch off from. Here’s an abridgement of the lessons I’ve learned since playing with cameras became my job…

1: Everyone you know knows somebody

Have a look through your facebook friends and you’ll realise that SO many people have jobs or connections with companies that could potentially employ you. No matter how weak the link, chase it up and do what you can with it. Possible clients and employers are all around you and it’s never been easier to find them. Twitter-Faceook-Linkedin-Google are all you really need to start searching.

2: Don’t expect anyone to email you back

DO send emails. DO NOT expect a reply. The people in charge of hiring you have done their jobs just fine before you came along. As soon as you’ve sent an initial email don’t wait for a response. Immediately proceed with a proper way of getting someone’s attention. Not getting a reply to an email can make you feel unsuccessful even though the reason isn’t personal 99% of the time. People are busy and you need them more than they need you. 

3. Get innovative with showing your work off

I scored a client once by sending the art director a stack of pizzas with my portfolio printed and attached to the top. You don’t have to be that crazy but people are easily flattered and easy to please. An email doesn’t smell/taste good whereas food, coffee and booze do. If you can get your work seen by an art director who’s holding a coffee that you paid for then you’ve already given them a reason to like you a little bit.

4…..minutes face to face is worth a thousand emails

Try to wangle the chance to talk to a potential client in person even for a very short time.  In a handful of minutes you can demonstrate reliability, good manners, a sense of humour and confidence. Combine those qualities with a banging portfolio and you’re in there.

5. A good portfolio is just the start

I no longer get daunted by other people’s portfolios like I used to. I can dissect other photographers’ lighting and use of photoshop pretty well and I’m totally aware of what I need to improve on in my work. It’s taken ages to get my portfolio to where I’m really proud of it and now I know that the real work starts from then on.

Everybody sees more accomplished people in their field producing sub par work. There’s no point in getting angry at it. Get inspired instead. The ‘pros’ producing work that you think isn’t good have still networked their arses off to get clients. If you genuinely think you’re better than the other guy then get on with steadily showing everyone who matters what you can do. Having a good portfolio is the beginning of the process. Getting seen by the right people is where you need to put all your efforts.

6. Are you really working hard?

If you think you’re working hard and it’s not paying off, you’re not working hard in the right areas. Playing around with your website/portfolio isn’t going to get you more clients. This doesn’t count as work. You can do that while lying in bed with a laptop. Finding new clients is the real work. On a day off from shooting spend the whole working day on a system of researching and contacting new clients, organising meetings, sending your material by post, finding out new ways of meeting/contacting the people you want to work for. Also, follow up every phone call or meeting with a quick email to thank people for their time. Manners go a long way.

 My father once told me ‘Finding a job is a full time job’ and it is totally true. 

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I have the concentration span of a goldfish. In fact I’m almost certain that I have a minor case of Attention Deficit Disorder. This can be so irritating when trying to get on with work but I get around it by writing lists of what I need to do and sticking to them until they’re done. The hardest bit is that I don’t have a boss giving me tasks to do. I have to create my workflow by myself and if I don’t force myself to pay attention then I get nothing done and I beat myself up about it. As a result I never switch off from my work. I’m constantly aware that there is a bit more I could be doing here and there to get more jobs. Ultimately, provided i don’t go mad,  this can only be a good thing….

Amelia - Test Shoot

I did a model test shoot with Amelia a couple of weeks ago when we had some amazingly sunny warm weather. Damn I wish it was like that now!

My Friend Rowan Can’t Skateboard…..

I went out in central London today with my friend Rowan to get some skateboard shots. He was really good when I first met him and barely ever failed a trick. I guess you could say he was a natural. Today was something different. He was so ambitious about the tricks he wanted to land and talked a lot about doing them in famous spots so that he could claim each trick in front of a decent sized crowd. He banged himself up pretty badly as you can see. Get well soon mate…….

Here he is before things turned ugly

Snowboarding 2012 pt.1

I went on my first of two snowboarding trips this year last week. I shot the brochure back in May 2011 for a company called Mountain High Season (www.mountainhighseasons.com) and they let me stay in their chalet for a week this winter as my payment. I went out with 5 friends and had an amazing time. I’m obsessed with snowboarding and have done 4 full winters in Europe and America. Due to my need to just get on my board and have a damn good time I barely picked up my camera at all. 

Here’s a few fun shots from the last day.

A test shoot with Amy Louise Kibler

I did a test shoot with Amy Louise Kibler at the beginning of Jan. I went snowboarding for a week soon after and only just got around to editing them.

Here’s a handful