I N CO N V E R S AT I O N W I T H S U K AY E F B I P P
Is there something you still want to photograph to cross off your photography bucket list?
What advice would you give to someone starting out as a photographer?
I crossed one off at Christmas, but I’d love to do it again and do it better. My passion, if I could just spend my life photographing something and not need to earn any money, would be wildlife in Africa.
The same advice I’ve given to a few people recently, actually. People ask me which photography course they should do because they want to become a photographer, and I say the first course they need to do is marketing. They need to learn about marketing, everything else I learned through experience, YouTube and courses, but if you get a marketing degree, you’ll do well.
One of the things I really wanted to do was photograph elephants at ground level, and I did that at Christmas, so I was very very pleased. We put in a lot of hours: days and days of being up at 3:45 in the morning and driving until 6:30pm when gates close. Aside from that, any travel stuff, I love photographing people, adults, street scenes, and derelict buildings.
On the photography side of it, you have to feel passionate about it, and with portraiture you have to feel comfortable and confident with your subject.
A picture of a soldier on a basic battle skills course that lasts for about two weeks: they will go from learning how to do session attacks, map reading, and first aid - the aim is for the soldiers to understand how to work effectively in a team and build confidence.
34 the PHOTOGRAPHER / 2023 / Issue One
Attitude is Everything © Su Kaye
Siblings © Su Kaye
Issue One / 2023 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 35
