Today we’d like to introduce you to Bill Ledbetter
Hi Bill, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When my eldest daughter was married, I did the traditional thing of walking her down the aisle. The emotional impact of that moment was intense! I felt that I would very much enjoy making photographs that capture something important for people, like weddings or family portraits. I had been working with a camera since the early 1980’s, mostly exploring the life of my family, and had recently started enjoying photographing other things as well: landscapes, abstract scenes, flora. I found my creativity blossomed as I pursued photography. I started a business in 2007 with a focus on family portraiture and weddings. Since then I have moved primarily towards family, events, and business photography, with a focus in my personal life on architecture, trees, flowers, colors, shapes, and structure. I find that making a photograph every single day has been very helpful to my personal growth, and I have been running a photograph-a-day project since 2017.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has always been a struggle to find clients. I’ve photographed perhaps 75 weddings, with most clients coming from referrals rather than advertising. The same has been true in all other areas of the business; advertising just hasn’t worked for me like personally connecting with people in my circles.
Photography done well requires a fairly high level of investment in equipment, training, assistants, insurance, and travel, but excellence has always been important to me. However, that has the impact of eating into the potential profit a business might gain with a constant stream of investments into excellence — a big tradeoff that I have worked on throughout my time as a professional photographer.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I think one of the main things that sets me apart from others is my attention to detail. Whether that is a portrait of a person, the plan for a wedding day, or a photograph of a flower, I spend time and effort to make sure everything is “just right.” The composition, colors, lighting, and of course, subject are all carefully handled in the moment to capture something unique in a beautiful way.
My practice has always been to add supplemental light, as needed, to make sure that each photograph is well lit and emphasizes the subject most advantageously.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
“Luck” or Providence, to me, is when my friends and professionals that know me refer my work to other people. That has been the usual way my clients connect with me. Without my network, I would not have been able to produce what I have.
Another aspect of Providence for me is that I dwell in the moment, looking for new views to work with. When I get a good photograph, it’s because I looked around at all the angles and considered all the photographs that could be made and “luckily” came across an aspect or angle of the moment that, when captured, made a beautiful photograph. That’s my habit: searching, analyzing, and then capturing — and sometimes making lots of photographs that don’t turn out to be great, but help lead along the way to the exceptional ones.
Pricing:
- Most of what I sell is customized to what a client wants or needs, so I value discussion about projects and plans over giving specific pricing in a complicated table.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://imagecl;ectic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/imageclecticphotography/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imageclectic
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/imageclectic/
Image Credits
All images are copyright imageclectic.com
