Bertie Watson on Photography

From opera singer to celebrity and fashion photographer Bertie Watson makes images  as a visual language by capturing snapshots in time for Swarovski, GQ Magazine, Harpers Bazaar, Hello! Magazine, Empire Magazine, BAFTA, Deadline Hollywood, Lacoste, L’Oréal, The Wall Street Journal, Roland Mouret, Watches of Switzerland, The British Fashion Council, and Raindance Film Festival.

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Transcript

Roy Sharples: 0:06

Hello, I'm Roy Sharples, welcome to the unknown origins podcast. Why are you listening to this podcast? Are you seeking inspiration? an industry expert, looking for insights, or growing your career? I created the unknown origins podcast to provide access to insights and content from creators worldwide with inspirational conversations and storytelling, about art, architecture, design, entrepreneurship, fashion, film, music and pop culture. From opera singer to photographer bathy Watson shoots a world class talent in the entertainment industry. For the likes of Swarowski. GQ, Harper's Bazaar, hello magazine, Empire Magazine, BAFTA, locost, L'Oreal, the Wall Street Journal, Roland Mouret and watches of Switzerland. Hello, and welcome, Bertie. So what inspired and attracted you to photography in the first place?

Bertie Watson: 1:13

Well, first of all, I was originally an opera singer. So I trained as a singer and musician since I was five years old. And son in Queens choir of all places in St. James's Palace when I was a little boy. That was a very interesting experience. And continued music throughout until about three years ago. Prior to that, I mean, when I was 13 years old, I did get a very cheap Nick on Coolpix camera, which I think was about two megapixels or something. And I took that around and took pictures of flowers and, and images around this Portuguese farm I stayed in for about a week. But then I parked it for a while and picked it back up for a year when I was an opera singer, so I had had the opportunity of taking headshots with my friends. And that kind of got me back into it. And whilst I was an opera singer, I did you know, the odd waiting events, and, you know, past rounds, drip past round drinks, events, that kind of thing. And there was this event that was serving drinks that it was a Paul Smith event. I remember it vividly. And I spotted a photographer. And he was taking pictures of these actors I seen the night before in a movie. It was Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturges. And I thought, I'd like to do that. It's probably much better than waiting tables and serving drinks for people and getting paid not much to do it. And so I approached this photographer, his name's James Mason. He's an amazing events photographer. He does all of the high end stuff like you know, big film premieres. Yeah, sorts. And I approached him, I said, I basically said, I'd like to work with you, if that's possible, and we met for coffee. And then about a week later, he hired me. And at the time, I wasn't really having too much of a good time in the opera world, I just wasn't enjoying it anymore. And I was looking for an opportunity to pivot and go into something completely different. And this was my opportunity. And so I kind of seize that, and made the most of it. And that lasted for about a year. And he kind of trained me up and introduced me to this amazing world of high end fashion events. And the like, I was just really lucky that I met him and took the opportunity when I could.

Roy Sharples: 4:06

Good for you by being guided by your instincts to clock an opportunity with a get up and go attitude to seize it. Engaging with and soliciting input from experts and immersing yourself in the domain to learn your craft on the job through coaching, mentoring, and acquiring the essential practical know how, from masters of their craft that helped accelerate you on your journey and credit to them for embracing and investing in you by providing their wisdom time to help get you started.

Bertie Watson: 4:40

I'm a huge believer in seizing the moment. Yeah, not thinking about things too much and just going for it. Not being scared to approach someone say hi. And without any expectations, just see where things can go. Yeah, that was a great example of how that Find out for the better

Roy Sharples: 5:01

Photography is a visual language that expresses imagination, beauty, emotions, and time as the advertising executive, Fred, our Bernard said, "One look is worth 1000 words". What is it about photography that compelled you?

Bertie Watson: 5:21

That's a good question. I think it's mainly the people, the people that I get to meet the stories I get to tell. And also the kind of access that you get that otherwise you wouldn't get having a camera on you. It kind of acts like a VIP AAA pass a lot of places, and I've had a three year whirlwind of experiences and traveling and having the opportunity to shoot some incredible talent in film and TV. And I think that wouldn't have been possible without a camera. Yeah. And also the amazing people that I've met along the way who have helped me get to where I am today. So as I mentioned, the photographer James Mason, who trained me for about a year. And then very recently, about two and a half. Yeah, two and a half. Yeah, two years ago, probably, yeah, I met this amazing photography is called Dan Kennedy. And you should definitely check him out anyone who's listening to this podcast, he is a celebrity portrait photographer. And he does a mentoring program. So he mentors, photographers like me who are just starting out. And it was a accelerator course. And it really helped me with the business side of things, and getting rid getting rid of limiting beliefs, and all that. And yeah, I can recommend anyone who's starting photography that they get in touch with him. He's fantastic.

Roy Sharples: 7:07

What is your creative process in terms of? How do you make the invisible visible by dreaming up ideas, developing them into concepts, and then bringing them to actualization?

Bertie Watson: 7:20

Another really good question, why? It depends really, because you have two sides of the coin, you've got client work, and you've got your own personal project work. So a client will usually give you a brief and this can sometimes be very specific or quite loose. But nonetheless, a client will give you a brief and you have to fulfill that brief and deliver what they asked for. And so there's less of a process of dreaming up ideas and developing those into concepts. However, as I said, it depends on the client. So it could work both ways. But then you've got kind of project work. So personal projects that you dream up of you dream up, and come to fruition. And those can be super flexible. They can be as big as you want, as small as you want. And the process is never the same for me. Yeah. Honestly, the the starting point can happen in many ways. I'll give you an example. I shot a portfolio for the black British Theatre Awards, just before the second lockdown. And this was an idea to to shine a light on the black British Theatre Awards, which weren't given such a huge platform before. And we really wanted to push that and publicize these images to promote them. And the idea just came from three friends. My friend, Aaron Blair, who's an insanely talented singer, actor, writer, dancer, he does everything to an insane standard. I'd definitely recommend people check him out. And also a friend of mine called Mr. Osmond. And we were just in a pub after doing a shoot together just for fun. And we drove this concept up and without them, I wouldn't have been able to do it really. And so we brought together various ideas and then we came up with this idea of shooting all these amazing actors and singers and dancers in the Shastri Theatre in the West End. And we got in touch with a theater and they were happy for us to shoot there and we all did it on a shoestring shoestring budget. and got it done. And then, you know, we got images, publicized in Hello magazine, in GQ and gay times is absolutely huge. And we actually recouped our costs because of those image those images sold to those publications. So that's just like one. One way, so dreaming up an idea in a pub. Another way was, for example, I was on the coast one day, and I was just really inspired by the beautiful scenery around me. And I thought, Look, it'd be beautiful if I could shoot an actor here. I got in touch with an actor I'd met at an event before at Raindance Film Festival, actually. And his name is Molokai Kirby, he recently won a BAFTA Yes, epic. And yeah, I bought together a mood board and IT team and pitched it to him, he seemed to like it. So we went ahead. And part of my team was my friend Olga Timofey, ever, who's a long standing friend and stylist, I work with her a lot. And we executed it and brought it together,

Roy Sharples: 11:18

Your ability to manifest stood out there, specifically around how you're able to manifest what's inside you from a feeling. And also the things that you observe in your everyday life. And then being able to make connections across those multiple touch points, regardless of how abstract they may appear at first. And that creates a spark to your imagination, which then becomes an idea, and then developing that idea to then been able to crystallize it into a photographic opportunity, then a project.

Bertie Watson: 11:53

Another thing that would help photographers, like myself, who are very visual is to store a reference file, on your computer or in the cloud. And this is a file just full of images that really inspire you. And you can find them on Instagram, or you can find them on trunk archive. And maybe once or twice a month, I'll go through Instagram, or trunk archive or just Google. And I'll save images that really speak to me. And whenever I'm kind of really lost on inspiration for ideas, and all that kind of thing. I'll go to my reference file. And that was actually something taught by Dan Kennedy, to me, so that was a huge tip he gave me and something that I'd be keen to pass on to any other photographers who are really stuck on ideas.

Roy Sharples: 12:47

So what are the key skills needed to survive and thrive? As a photographer,

Bertie Watson: 12:52

you definitely need to practice, practice, and practice a little more important that you have at least a basic technical understanding of your camera and how light works. It helps a lot being able to use a camera in your sleep, because on jobs, you've got to be quick, you've got to know how to use your tools. The other thing is persistence, is really, really big thing. Obviously, there's a fine line between being persistent and Being Annoying. So you have to kind of skirt that that line. But yeah, just being really persistent and not not giving up when someone hasn't answered one email that you've sent off. Yes, a that you should email them probably five times before thinking about phoning them, or you know, sending them letters. If you really, if you really want to work with them. So yeah, persistence is a is a huge thing. Another thing is approaching people not being scared to call, even if it's a cold call, to email to go directly to people and just saying, look, hey, I'm here and connecting with them. Because that can be a really limiting thing. Unless, you know, if you're not going to be in front of the people that are the key decision makers and who are going to hire you then it's gonna be really hard to progress in your business and to get and to achieve the goals that you want to achieve. Another example is, is you can actually just go directly to the source. So when I was starting out, I wanted some new event clients. And the way I did that was not through Instagram, not through email and not through cold calling. I just dressed up in a suit and carried a briefcase looked the part and went literally into every shop on Bond Street and Regent Street, you know, the streets, like the nicest shops, the best fashion brands, etc. And I just asked to see the the event manager there. And after doing that for about three days, I, I managed to get in touch with one of the event managers that watches Switzerland, who are now my best client that I have. And he gives me a lot of work a lot of commercial work. So it definitely pays to go face to face with people. And if if you can go direct to the source, put on a suit or your best dress and walk in there with a big smile and a nice handshake and you know, anything can happen.

Roy Sharples: 15:57

There's two critical skills that really stood out there. One is craftsmanship, and the other is entrepreneurialism. So with regards to the craftsmanship part, it's about being passionately dedicated to your craft, and remaining honest and being trustworthy and responsible by taking pride in everything you do to help you achieve the highest quality levels of professionalism. And that comes to your point through the constant practice that the constant honing of your skills and experiences. And entrepreneurialism is about fearlessly leading by being adaptive to change being persistent and resilient, by bringing new things to your craft and by being independently minded and self sufficient from start to finish. And that constant hustle that you mentioned there where you rocked up on Bond Street, and you knocked on every single door until you got a positive answer.

Bertie Watson: 16:57

Whenever you get a no, it never means a no, Roy! It just means try again in three months. The other thing I would say is marketing is super important. The channels I may use are Instagram and LinkedIn. And I'd say to people, don't be afraid to be the face of your business. Yeah, and really share and provide value to the audience that you create on LinkedIn and Instagram. So show how you've done things, answer questions, create Instagram lives, add behind the scenes to your pictures, and really show people the process that you've gone through to achieve the the end results because honestly, most people are interested in that rather than the final image funnily enough. So yeah, but as I was saying, don't be afraid to be the face of your business. And definitely start marketing through Instagram and LinkedIn and have someone do your Instagram for you have someone grow it for you. Have someone posts for you if if you can, or if you want to, because that will offer you more time to focus on your business and reaching out to new clients. So yeah, freeing up your own time is definitely a priority.

Roy Sharples: 18:28

So as you reflect upon your career to date, one of the lessons learned in terms of the pitfalls to avoid, and the keys to success that you can share with existing, but also aspiring photographers?

Bertie Watson: 18:42

Yeah, of course. So I'd say the first would be preparation. You can't be too prepared. Look up who your shooting is there someone you can connect with? After you've researched, where they've grown up what they've done. Research the brand you're shooting for that really get an understanding of them and get to the location. If you've got time one day or week before for a Recchi know what the weather will be like have a contingency plan if it might rain. What else is there? Is there heating in the studio? Will there be changed a changing area how you create one if there isn't? Where will the light be coming from? Have you sent out a call sheet all these things you you just got to be really prepared. And that will set you up for a really good shoot day because you'll be able to sleep well at night.

Roy Sharples: 19:50

Know your craft. Always come prepared with your guns loaded, which oozes confidence and trust and by putting the groundwork in place Front allows you to focus on bringing your A game to the job at hand on the

Bertie Watson: 20:05

You want your client or the person issues in to just seamlessly walk into the studio or on location, and we start shooting or we get them a coffee, or they've got that amazing soy vegan curry that they really like. It's just the little things that help us, you know, rather than you running around like headless chicken, making the talent or the publicist or the client really nervous. Yes, yeah, definitely preparation. A second thing I'd say is have systems in place. So from all the way from the booking to the shoot to delivery of the images or the content, having systems systems in place, again, it's it's all about preparation, and creating more of a seamless and stress free experience for both your clients or whoever you're shooting and, and also yourself just so you've got peace of mind. A few programs that I use that are super useful. One is photo mechanic. And that's a image coloring software that allows you to go through super high res pictures really quickly. And you can quickly call select various images that you need. The other one is Kronos sync, and this is what I use to backup my images. This is another thing is super, super, super important. Anyone to backup their work, and not in just one place. So don't just back it up to one hard drive backup to two hard drives and backup to the clouds. And yeah, just have at least three places that you've backed up your images to, because it's it's it's really it'll save your skin. So yeah, the second one is Cronus think the third one is pixie pixie set. And I use that for client galleries. So I'll send the gallery of images for the clients to select which image they want. Or if I include it in a, say, if I'm shooting a wedding, I'll include that in my package that that they'll get an online gallery that they can then share to their friends and they can download pictures from the other one is zero, spelt with an X X er Oh, and that's accounting and financial software. So that's software that will connect to your bank account, and it will be in the clouds. And if you have an accountant that works with Xero, they can file your tax return. From there, you can get real time data and information of your money coming in and your expenses. So I'd really recommend people having integrated software that links to their bank account and their business that's super important rather than having loads of paper or Excel spreadsheets, if there's too much of a headache. The other one is Evernote. And that's a cloud based storage system for as you guessed it notes, and anything you need to write down or save, it's super useful. Another I've got two more things than why it's not. I just want to try and provide as much value to people great. The other thing that's really super useful for me is this software system called one password. And as you guessed it saves all your password and passwords in one place. So you're not digging around and you know wasting time resetting passwords and all that stuff. And the last one is boomerang. So if you if you use Gmail, Boomerang is super, super useful. It's great for chasing up clients chasing up if clients haven't paid, or if you want to reach out to them, just keeping in touch that's really useful. You can also shedule our emails so you can send them really late on a Sunday night and not look like a really bad human being and have them you know, land in their inbox in the morning on Monday. So that's, that's all my systems that I have in place and hopefully that can help people to avoid any pitfalls and create a more seamless delivery from booking to delivery of images.

Roy Sharples: 24:58

I think that last point you just made their way around creating a seamless experience. I mean, what you've described there really eloquently is, you know, clearly there's, there's the tools around helping automate and optimize your creative process, but also your business process and run in the business of photography. And so it just seemed You made it sound so compact and efficient. The other thing as well was, as you were speaking through that, somebody's going to handle your points around how you set up a photography in a session where, you know, by being professional by doing your homework by having things prepared in advance, so that when your client arrives, the experience to them is, is seamless. And by by creating that experience, it makes you come across even more professional and that you really are on top of your your game. And I think when when clients and artists feel that you get a better performance out of them. And there's a term you use the key word as well earlier around trust, and when there's a trust there, and I think that's when you've hit the point of Nirvana between the artist and the image maker.

Bertie Watson: 26:05

I think you hit the nail on the head that's ultimately to do with trust. And without that, there's no scope for moving forward. Honestly, it's, yeah, it's hardwired into us as human beings. And yeah, that's the most important thing to be able to deliver what you say you're going to deliver. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, totally. The I've got a few other things if you'd like to, yeah, please. So yeah, I've, I've got a few other tips. So just be nice and don't stress, it's really simple. But if if you can just be a nice human being. And remember that, you know, we're not curing cancer here, we're actually doing what we love to be doing and getting paid for it. That's an incredible blessing. Just have fun as much as you can. The other thing is create a list of contacts if you can, and save it to your Evernote, you know, that which I mentioned before, create a list of photographers that you know, makeup artists, stylists, retouchers, careers, producers, all that kind of stuff. So that you've got that at your fingertips in case a client needs a recommendation, or you need to pull together a team. And the other one is help people is a really big thing, help people without expectations. I'm a really big believer in the law of reciprocity and karma. And I believe that it comes back to either bite you, or to reap rewards, whether it's the week after or a year or 10 years, it doesn't matter. I think just being as I said, a nice human being. And helping people without expectations is a huge thing.

Roy Sharples: 28:05

Kindness matters, creating positive reactions, which produce new counter actions, and so on, which binds the living entity into karma. This creates memories, desires and experiences and ultimately determines how you live your life by your own actions by being present and in the moment and helping others along the way.

Bertie Watson: 28:28

Also, if you don't know how to do something, if a client or when you're starting out, if a client is asking you to do something, and you're not too sure on how to execute it, you can still do that, but get someone else to do it for you. And then learn from them, so that you know how to do it the next time. So anything's really possible, but just pull in someone who's an expert. And you, you will have to pay them a big part of your fee. But at least then you'll know how to do it for the next time. There's nothing worse than telling a client or whoever you're shooting that you know how to do something and then not delivering, that's probably the worst thing you can do. So as I say, get someone else to do it for you and learn from them. The other thing is outsource and delegate as much as you can. You've got to focus on your business as much as possible. Focus on reaching out to new people forming amazing relations, relationships with clients or prospective clients. And if you can outsource and delegate as much as you can, that will free up the time for your business. So that's another top tip. The other thing is about working for free. This is a really big topic at Um, amongst creatives, and when when starting out, it may be necessary. But when you're established or you're on your way with a few clients, I would really would recommend don't work for free. Unfortunately, you know, a credit or a shout out, never pays the bills. Yeah, seems that a lot of people think that it does things that, you know, they think that a shout out or a credit does pay the bills, but it doesn't. Unless it's you approaching people, and it's your own projects, and know your worth and don't do it for free.

Roy Sharples: 30:44

Asking for help is always a smart tactic. And not what you are actually doing is surrounding yourself with talented people who will elevate your game and facilitate your development and progress. It also inspires optimism and hope, and helping you deal with challenging situations, which improves your ability to learn quickly and to build resilience. I also agree about not working for free, because people do not value it. When people invest, they commit your other point about knowing your true worth that spot on. Only you know your true worth. The key is to be good at what you do. Don't compromise your integrity. When there is no fair value exchange, the digital revolution has profoundly disrupted the photography industry, where technology has dramatically democratized photography, where everyone as a photographer, because the technology has made it easy to be one and equality, accessible and affordable way. Bertie, what's your vision for the future of photography?

Bertie Watson: 31:55

As a great question, I think the main thing is turn around, we'll be getting faster and faster and faster. Not long ago, I was shooting an event on a phone. And this content was air drops to the client in real time. So if that was a year or so ago, and I was shooting on a phone, I can't imagine that things will slow down in the future. So I think the process from booking to, to shooting will kind of remain the same. But from when you've shot the images to when you deliver them to the client is getting faster and faster and faster. Clients are wanting content and their content out there really quickly. And they want more content is more and more and more and faster, faster, faster. Really. The other thing is, I think we'll we'll start to see a lot more user generated content. So think about tick tock and Instagram wheels. These will probably replace the slick and expensive videography that behind the scenes videography that we see on shoots sometimes. Not that there isn't a place for that. I think it's amazing that we can have that still. But I think especially from having the pandemic and a recession, clients will be looking to save money as much as they can, and really engage with that audience. And I feel that user generated content from mobile phones, for example, will be you know, a thing that will we'll see a lot more prevalent on shoots. The other thing is, I'm seeing more and more that honor photography, shoot, there's there's videos, so they'll have a videographer kind of shooting a commercial kind of shots, commercial, as well as doing the photography. So they'll have the photography set up, as well as video in one day rather than shooting on separate days. So I think there'll be a lot more. There'll be a lot. There'll be a lot more kind of scope in terms of collaboration between videographers and photographers DOP is all that kind of thing. So that's kind of my little vision of the future of photography. I wish I had a crystal ball or an orb or whatever it may be, look into the future. But that's those are my kind of guesses. The other thing is, there's a big question mark over NF T's and what they have, what their role is for photographers. That will be really interesting to see how that pans out and how that develops in the future to

Roy Sharples: 34:57

How soon is the future. One thing for sure is the future is unwritten and anything is possible Do you want to learn more about how to create by frontiers by unleashing your creative power? Then consider getting CREATIVITY WITHOUT FRONTIERS. How to make the invisible, visible by liking the way into the future. It's available in print, digital and audio on all relevant book platforms. You have been listening to the Unknown Origins podcast. Please follow subscribe, rate and review us. For more information go to unknownorigins.com Thank you for listening