We are super excited to welcome Liam & Bee of ‘The Crawleys’ to be one of our Ambassadors!

These guys are absolutely incredible and are such huge influencer’s in the photography industry.

Your Name: Liam & Bee Crawley
Your Business Name: The Crawleys
Your Website: https://the-crawleys.com

Please tell us something you think everyone should know about you, your photography business, and what makes you different from other photographers?

Bee and I met in a gay bar in Liverpool at 5am in 2002 … we have been inseperable ever since.  When we married, we had the song ‘Gay Bar’ by electric six as our first dance!

Bee and I have quite an unusual set-up compared to many wedding photography businesses. Although we are team Crawley, we have quite separate roles – Bee edits, I shoot. It has been this way ever since we started working together 18 years ago. I guess what makes us different is, as our logo states, we create wedding images from the air with drone technology, in the sea and in lakes with an underwater housing, and on land.

What is it about photography that inspires you to get up in the morning and hustle? 

I really love experimenting with my image making. I see my next wedding as an opportunity to try something new, to dare to be a bit different. I get a real buzz out of creating something new in the industry.

Can you share with us how it all started – what got you into photography? How did an aspiring photographer become a full time one and how did you book your very first paid job?

Before I was a photographer I actually had a very small stint in the Royal Marines. Sadly, due to back problems, this didn’t work out and I was medically discharged. Adventure, the great outdoors, and physical challenges was always one of my passions … hence the reason for joining the armed forces. When that wasn’t an option I decided to pursue another passion of mine, being creative. I studied wildlife and landscape photography at university, enabling me to combine my two passions – the great outdoors, and being creative. After graduating I was asked by a cousin to photograph her wedding, it was on film back then! I agreed and I found I could implement quite a lot of my landscape photography skills with bride and groom portraiture. I also loved seeing how my pictures made people feel, how happy they were to receive these precious memories. From that point, I was hooked on wedding photography.

At this point in your career, are you happy with everything that has happened so far? Can you share with us your goals that drives you to become better everyday?

I’m extremely happy with where we are at with our business at the moment. This job has taken me all over the world, and it provides us with a very comfortable life indeed. Getting that work / life balance just right has been an issue in the past, I’ve had some years where I have shot over 50 weddings with no weekends off in the entire year. Now that our wonderful daughter Betty is on the scene, we’ve cut back on the amount of weddings we photograph. My goal is to spend more time with my family as this leaves me feeling happier and more focused as a photographer when I’m in work mode.

Any advice on marketing strategies that you find effective at the moment? 

SEO has always been our main marketing strategy, in particular, off-site link building. I want our website to have as much authority as possible in the eyes of google, and this is only achievable by having lots of wedding related, high authority websites, linking and having an association with your website.

 Who is your greatest influencer when it comes to photography? How did they influence your thinking, photography, and career path? 

Ansel Adams. I’m originally a landscape photographer and when I discovered Ansel Adams’ work at university I was obsessed. He had a saying that really resonated with me … There are two ways of creating a photograph – From within, and from without. From within, meaning you should shoot in a way that directly reflects how you feel at that moment. From without, meaning shooting in a way that is influenced by others such as working to a brief set out by a commercial client or similar. I always encourage wedding photographers to try and stay true to themselves and shoot from within.

Any tips on building a good relationship with clients?

Exceed their expectations, every step of the way. Respond to emails promptly, be quick to answer any questions they may have. Send them a small gift to say thanks for booking. Keep them informed and up to date with info about the wedding day, and do this well in advance of the big day itself. Pay attention to what they want, it’s their day, not yours. If they want 15 group shots, they can have them. If they don’t want bride and groom portraits, that’s totally cool.

If you could turn back time, is there anything you would have done differently?

Yes. I wish I would have taken care of my back a little earlier on! Your body is important, particularly in this job … look after it and you’ll continue to be happy shooting for many years.

Any last piece of advice for other photographers who wants to build their business? And words of wisdom that you want to pass on?

Listen to the beat of your own drum. We all see the world through different eyes, and we all have the ability to create images that are unique to us whilst reflecting our personalities, as well as the personalities of our subjects.