Tony Quill, Barrett & Coe, London
Chartered Surveyor
I’ve had an interest in cameras since I was 5 and by the time I was 12 knew I wanted to be a professional photographer. Parental pressure encouraged me towards a career as a Chartered Surveyor, with a senior role at a commercial investment property agency my destination. By 1998 a close friend and I had other lifestyle ambitions to fulfil.
It looked like a move to the restaurant and club industry was on the cards but all the while I was becoming a more frustrated photographer. Things changed significantly for me during a 2-hour chat with Andrew Coe at a franchise exhibition in Birmingham.
The discussions were centred on me asking a key question. I love photography, its my passion what would your training courses do for me?
Andrew’s answer was in two parts; the courses will make you a better photographer and will give you lots of opportunities to make money as a photographer if you chose to do so. Within a matter of weeks I enrolled and was on my first course. It was a whole new experience for me mixing with ‘real’ people: fireman, market researcher, pig farmer and hairdresser spring to mind. Only days after having taken and passed the exams I was already missing the camaraderie so I signed up for the portrait course.
My role within the network is a bit different to most but having access to the training, marketing support, framing and laboratory are essential ingredients in the success of my business. Indeed it was during one of my regular visits to Norwich that Brian Barrett helped me with some crucial decisions in turning my business into pure digital photography. Something I now specialise and in helps me win prestige business from my studio in central London. This started in earnest in 2003 and being in St Johns Wood has assisted with me being appointed as the Official Photographer for the Rolls Royce centenary celebrations in 2004, a project that saw me enlist the help of other recommended Barrett & Coe photographers.
Another collaboration sees me working with one of the worlds leading portrait photographers focusing on schools photography. We also undertake various event photography commissions for prestigious fashion houses and even do work for a very famous family located at a very famous place in London that attracts literally millions of visitors every year!
Everyone’s got different dreams but the beauty of working with B&C means that you are in an environment where everyone wants the same outcome; only the route there differs. Only last week (Feb06) I won an assignment to photograph 30 prestigious properties throughout the UK, having access to others in the network got me the job.
As to the future you have to watch this space because I know that there’s more for me to do and achieve. Backing my ambitions up is daily study and regular visits to Norwich for ongoing training with Brian and Andrew. I may have ‘arrived’ as a professional photographer but for me there’s still a long way to go.
click
here for Tony's BIPP Qualification Panel images
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