Harborough Hustle Podcast

Martin [00:00:00]:

Hello. I’m your podcast host, Martin Robson. Harborough Hustle proudly sponsors local charities. Check us out on marketharboroughbiznetwork .co.uk/podcast, where you can find a transcript of today’s podcast. All the links that are mentioned in the show, posts that you can share on social media to spread the word and everything you need to know if you’d like to help our local charities Find out more about our lovely sponsors. Today, I would like to thank Roman Britons Websites, your local web company that, besides being local, also has national partners and international clients. Roman Britons design, build, and host your website and help get it found. They specialise in making tech easy so you can focus on your business.

Martin [00:00:51]:

Welcome to this episode of Harborough Hustle, where I am delighted to be chatting with Guy Walsh from Guy Walsh Photography. Hey, Guy. How are you?

Guy [00:01:01]:

Yeah. I’m alright, Martin. Thank you for having me. How are you doing?

Martin [00:01:04]:

Not too bad. Not too bad. Like we were saying just before, I think we’re we’re both on the strepsils or something, so it should be interesting

Guy [00:01:10]:

Yeah. I’m a little bit nasally today for some reason, but, yeah, there we go

Martin [00:01:14]:

go. There we go. So, yeah, I mean, Some of the guests I have on, you know, I don’t know very much about. Obviously, I’ve worked with you a bit because, for people who don’t know, for the Market Harbor Business Network Guy is the official photographer. You can see many examples of his lovely work on there. But, I do know that there’s a lot more to to Guy and being the MHBN official photographer. So first question, just find out a little bit about you guy. Kind of a nutshell thing because we are gonna go deeper later on.

Martin [00:01:49]:

Just tell us a bit about who you are, where do you live, what do you do, and and what do you like doing that isn’t photography?

Guy [00:01:57]:

Oh my word. So the the the short answer to that question is I have ADHD, so I do a bit of everything. I’ve already recently discovered that I have ADHD, but it made a lot of things make sense in my life. At the moment, I’m a photographer, but, in in a nutshell, over the last 12 or so years since I’ve been self employed, the reason I went self employed was because I was, starting an acting career. And alongside the acting career, I’ve worked many, many jobs, many zero hours contracts. I’ve done many freelance bits and bobs. I’ve done all sorts of admin support. I’ve worked for charities.

Guy [00:02:34]:

I’ve worked part time jobs. And prior to that, I worked A sort of a more typical career where I worked in everything from, Domino’s pizza shops to, parcel companies. I was a graduate trainee. I was a Domino’s manager at one point, and I also worked in for Business Link as well, Supporting people who are starting their own businesses. So my career has been been around the block, but in the last 12 years or so when I’ve been freelance. It’s been absolutely insane.

Martin [00:03:09]:

Give us a quick example.

Guy [00:03:11]:

Well, so when you’re working as an actor, the the acting work isn’t consistent. So you’re working for, on the lower end of the scale. Certainly, you’re you’re working for Short term contracts for not very much money. So a lot of the work that I did was was as an actor was was both freelance and also minimum wage, which is obviously the the worst combination you can have. But they the the jobs are fantastic. You know? I did things like I was working I worked on a A an immersive interpretation of the Polar Express, the Disney film. Or the I think it was Pixar film. I can’t remember.

Guy [00:03:44]:

Anyway, but we we did a version of that whereby I was the train conductor, and we put these kids on the back of a truck on a farm. We took them on a trip to the an elf workshop, in the North Pole, and, They got to meet some of the elves, make some toys, and then they went on a journey and then met Santa. But my job was on the the trip on the train, which was literally a trailer on the back of a tractor, was to entertain them and tell them stories and get them doing a bit of a Christmas sing along, on the way as well. So that was one that’s one typical job. Obviously, that’s a seasonal job, so that was that was pretty much end of November and start end until Christmas. But alongside that, I would also be doing things like, I had a job where I worked another education working on reception, which was a steady part time job. And then I would also do occasional seasonal work, which generally involved standing in shops and handing out freebies. So those people you see Standing, for example, at the front of Waitrose, I once had a job handing out Lindt chocolate samples.

Guy [00:04:52]:

So I was just handing those samples out and saying, yeah. It’s in aisle 12. You know? So why won’t all free today or what have you? And that was my job for the entire day, which was incredibly repetitive and incredibly boring, But I always knew that I’d only gotta do it for 8 hours, and then tomorrow, I’ll be on to something different. And, also, I got to take away loads of free chocolate. So, you know, that was good.

Martin [00:05:11]:

Yeah. Absolutely. It’s it’s always good to have use useful benefits. And it turns out we have something in common that, I didn’t know, which is that, I actually went to the North Pole and met father Christmas and his elves. So, yeah, which was a a fantastic experience. But it’s surprising, isn’t it, how how these things come up. I’m just gonna go off piste a little bit really here and and just, if if you don’t mind, or if you do mind, just tell me straight up. But you mentioned that you’ve done a lot of different jobs, because you discovered you got, ADHD? ADHD.

Martin [00:05:51]:

Yeah. How how would you say that that kind of impacted and, and perhaps what what can people do to to be more inclusive?

Guy [00:06:04]:

I’m still working now, if I’m honest. I mean, I can tell you from my own experience that when I look back at my career, I generally got bored in a job After about a year, unless there was some kind of development or I moved on to a new role or there was, you know, a significant change in my in my work, After about a year, I always felt like I was ready to move on and do something new because I’d spent a lot of time working on one thing, and I’d I’d kind of reached The pinnacle of what I could do with that thing. So when I found out that I had ADHD, a lot of that that suddenly made sense. And I I realized that in looking back at my career, looking back at the jobs that I had, after about a year, my went. And I I perhaps wasn’t the best employee at that point because I I was it it I was frustrated. And at the time, it was you know, Like a lot of people, I I I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and I would put it down to well, I’ve you know, I’ve suggested that we do this thing, and and it’s not been done or Why are we still making these mistakes, and we’ve been making them from a year ago? You know? And and, no, that used to really, really grate on me, the fact that I’d come up with solutions to things, and no one wanted to implement them. I think that was a separate issue, but I do think that that knowing that that was there and With ADHD, you have something called hyperfocus where you can it is what it sounds like. You you focus on something for a particularly long period of time.

Guy [00:07:33]:

And if that thing is something negative, it can really, you know, get into your psyche and and make you feel unhappy. And so when I could See things that could be fixed and people weren’t fixing them. That was particularly frustrating for me. And so I I think in In the situations where I had jobs where that was prominent, that was an issue. But I will also say I had jobs where I was given a lot more responsibility and a lot more autonomy, and I could change things when I wanted to. And when I was able to change those things myself and make those changes, I didn’t feel that same level of frustration. So for me, I think something we we know is that People in general, regardless of neurodiversity or or neurotypical status, they like autonomy. You know? They they like Feeling immersed in the work.

Guy [00:08:22]:

They like feeling like it has an impact. And I think the last job that I had, unfortunately, came to an end because the contract ran out. And that was I’ve been there 2 and a bit years, and that was the one that I wasn’t ready to leave because my role kept developing. I was given the autonomy. I was constantly developing things. And when things didn’t work, they trusted me to put the processes and procedures in place to correct them. So I didn’t feel that level of frustration. So I think regardless of whether you’re neurodiverse or not, having that autonomy and that and that control and and and that, engagement in your role is is crucial to happiness at

Martin [00:09:01]:

work. Yeah. I think it’s a A a key point. I mean, I can relate to certainly some of the things about, you know, why are we doing it this way and and those organizations where the answer is because that’s how we did it yesterday. And, you know, if you keep repeating that day after day after day, then, you know, this really doesn’t make any sense. There’s there’s a better way of doing it. And it’s interesting. Obviously, we’re we’re both entrepreneurs.

Martin [00:09:24]:

We’re both self employed, and and I think, you know, there’s probably a trait within there of of people like, okay. I want to do this my way. Not because I think my way is necessarily the best, but but I can see how to improve. And I’m getting frustrated that, you know, people aren’t responding to that.

Guy [00:09:41]:

Yeah. I I think so. I I think the the I I I’m a big advocate of self employment for a lot of neurodiverse people and a lot of disabled people as well because with disabled people and neurodiverse people throughout my life. I think that self employment can be a a real it can really improve the quality of your life Because you have that autonomy and that control over everything. For example, for me, I would struggle to go back into an office now because I have My home office is set up exactly the way I like it. I have the amount of space I want. I have my desk as the power I want, but most importantly, I control the environment. So I Have no background noise here.

Guy [00:10:21]:

I once worked in a call center, and we had a radio on, and it used to just drive me mad. I could not stand the background noise. But there were other people in that call center who it would drive them mad if the radio wasn’t on. That was the only thing they they enjoyed about it. And that can be true of people with neurodiversity. So for example, my girlfriend, we suspect she may be autistic, And we have very different sensory needs. My girlfriend’s also disabled, so she likes to have a room set up to be dark and have background noise. And I like to have rooms up to be light and be silent.

Guy [00:10:57]:

So that’s one of the reasons why we don’t live together. But, again, that that’s That’s the challenge of working within an office regardless of whether you are neurodivergent or not. And this is one of the things I always say is that when you make things better for people who are neurodivergent. You make them better for everybody. So if you can offer that flexible working environment to somebody, they may not know they’re neurodivergent. They may not be neurodivergent. But if you’re forcing someone to work in condition that are not the their optimal operating conditions, you’re never gonna get the most out of them. So self employment for me Means that I can you know, I I as I said, I can control the environment.

Guy [00:11:32]:

I can control the background noise. I can go for a walk whenever I want. Certainly, I’m not Tied to my desk like I was at the call center. You know, and I can go out and I can go and have a lie down. I had 1 job where I had a really supportive boss who would just let me just go and we have this this separate room out the back, and I would just go and lie down for 10 minutes and meditate. And then I’d come back, and I’d be ready to work again. And that was fantastic because, you you know, she understood the benefit of letting me do that. And, again, this is that any any knowledge The the I was neurodiverse at this time.

Guy [00:12:04]:

So, neurodivergent, I should say. Sorry. Get the language right. But yes. So I think that One of my passions is is is that people should be comfortable at work. And if they’re comfortable at work, then you can get the most out of I don’t I don’t believe in this ridiculous capitalistic drive towards, you know, the old factory style Employment. And I think with what we know now about people and working conditions, we can be a lot more intelligent about the way we We get the most out of people, and and that’s better for everybody. It’s better for the company.

Guy [00:12:38]:

It’s better for the individual. It’s better for the manager. Yeah. There’s there’s really no downside to that.

Martin [00:12:43]:

Yeah. Yeah. Like you say, I mean, it’s it’s the win win, but with a win win win win win. But and it and, I think there’s a real key message in there, you know, about, like you say, if you can If you can create the most productive working environment, whatever that happens to be, for an individual, it Stands to reason you’re gonna get more productivity out of them. And and like you say, that will help them but also help the business

Guy [00:13:07]:

as well. And and that varies from person to person, and it’s not gonna you know, the same work environment isn’t gonna work for everybody. And I think that if If we can become better at communicating what our our needs are, then we can we we can make We can make life better for everybody. Make certainly make work life better for everybody. One of my biggest frustrations was when I expressed my needs at work and in jobs, and they were not fulfilled because, like you mentioned, no. We don’t do that. We’ve always done done it this way. Or the other one, which is, well, we can’t make this change just for 1

Martin [00:13:43]:

person. You

Guy [00:13:43]:

know? So it it it’s I I do think the world is changing. I’m very optimistic about that. I see lots of certainly companies run by by younger people, by by Gen Z and younger millennials and, who are doing things very differently. And I think that’s gonna have a long term impact on the world, and I think we’ll start to see the the benefits of that.

Martin [00:14:05]:

Excellent. It’s good to have a message of positivity. I mean, you know, quite often, people will highlight this isn’t how it should be. This isn’t how it should be, which which is important, but I think it’s it’s more important to go, and this is what you could do about it. And then if you’ve even got examples of people who’ve done it, then, you know, so much the better. So, yeah, really interesting stuff. Just one very quick thing on on, working with noise or working in silence that They kinda made me smile inside. Way back when when I was doing a levels, I used to do them with heavy metal in the background.

Martin [00:14:38]:

And and my parents were like, you gotta turn that off. You can’t concentrate. I’m like, no. No. You don’t understand. I can zone this out. I can’t zone out other things that are not as noisy or whatnot because, you know, it was the sort of stuff I liked. So it blocked everything else out, and heavy metal is really good at blocking those stuff out.

Guy [00:14:55]:

Yeah. Well, it’s interesting. And these things can change over time as well. You know? Because, certainly, when I was younger, I used to work with Musica in the background, But I I don’t do that anymore. I I think when I was working in the call center when I when I was in you were in early twenties, the issue with the the radio being on there was More that I you know you know what radio stations are like? Commercial radio stations in particular playing the same songs over and over every day, and that repetitiveness of Things I didn’t like used to drive me mad. But, again, if I had control over that environment, if I had control over what music was on, then then that would be a different story. So, yeah, I think these things can certainly change over time. And, yeah, like you, I was I was I I’ve I’ve played in in rock bands all my life as well, and, We, I I always like a little bit of, something something noisy in the background, something properly that drills into you if I’m gonna listen to music.

Martin [00:15:46]:

Yeah. And and that was the bit I was gonna say as well is now if I’m concentrating, I’ve got to do, you know, a a particular bit that really needs me to focus on some some coding or, you know, something for a website. I have to have no noise in the background. It’s the complete opposite. I’ve kind of have I turned into my parents? No. Surely not. Anyway, yeah, things change, like you say. I’m also gonna give a very quick shout out to to Harborough FM, because I’ve lived in a lot of different places and listened to a lot of radio, both national and local.

Martin [00:16:18]:

And I do think it’s one of the stations where they have a really diverse playlist, and and will do things. I mean, they’ll play Deep Purple at breakfast time, which, you know, doesn’t happen on national radio. And so yeah. Quick shout out for them. Anyway, again, perhaps we should get back on piste and whatnot. So I took a drink while you were talking, And my drink is on a placemat. And I looked at the placemat, and total coincidence – For those people who who are listening rather than watching, it says Guy Walsh Photography.

Martin [00:16:51]:

So there you are. I’m reminded of you every day. Good marketing tip. So let’s talk about GuyWash, Photography then. And and, tell me, how did you get started with that business?

Guy [00:17:02]:

So I started, sorry. Excuse me one second. Okay. Sorry. Just clearing my throat for those who are listening. The yes. So the the photography business started because, again, while I was still working as an actor, I realized that as an actor, you need a a consistent career, a consistent income, alongside your acting career. I I didn’t really have that because I’ve had such a long and varied career.

Guy [00:17:33]:

I haven’t had the opportunity to to to really master one thing and become a a an expert in one particular thing. So I decided that, you know, again, alongside all the various the self employment things I’ve done, I decided, well, actually, Then it would make sense to to to turn this thing into something that is consistent, so my own business that I can use to Control my availability. Because as an actor, you need to be available at, you know, often at 24 hours notice to go to an audition. You need to be Available to to you need to be able to to drop plans and and change things around at the last minute. And the The difficulty I was having was was that I simply you know, I was I was having all these piecemeal jobs, One here, one there. And and when you commit to a a piecemeal job, and it might be a 50 quid job that you’ve committed to, And then an audition comes up, but I would never cancel the 50 pound job because I’ve made a commitment to that job. It it it I found myself in a situation where I was having to take work I didn’t want to do for less money than actually, doing the thing I wanted to do. So I decided to build a business alongside my acting career so that I could Be available for auditions.

Guy [00:19:00]:

Be available to work as an actor. Unfortunately, I decided to do this just before COVID hit. And, not only that, but I’d also decided that my my target industry was the event photography industry, working within events. So 2 weeks before COVID hit, I left my my job, which was my consistent job that I have, which was Working as as an escape room host, which was an acting job, which I really enjoyed. But, again, I’d I’d been there 2 and a bit years, and and I’ve reached the point where I was, I need to move on because I’ve I’ve been doing it too long and and doing the same thing over and over. But, anyway, I left that job, and, obviously, 2 weeks later, COVID hit, And the events industry didn’t exist anymore. So, over lockdown, I ended up doing some business advice work, And that was a job where I say I I I was really well supported and really enjoyed doing that and and would, you know, would happily go back to work for those guys again had the contract not come to an end. But the the photography business has kind of been growing slowly since then.

Guy [00:20:02]:

In the middle of COVID as well, I I also moved, back to Leicestershire because I was living in Brighton for 13 years, and and then, unfortunately, my my dad was dying. So I came back to to be with him, in his in his final year or so. And, obviously, we had lockdown during all of that. We the world wasn’t really operating as normal. So when the world did start to reopen last year, All of a sudden, I’m back in Leicester and effectively restarting. I mean, I hadn’t really got the business off the ground in Brighton anyway. And, here in Leicester, I I you know, I’m I’m restarting the business on Leicestershire, I should say. And So, really, I I kinda restarted it last year.

Guy [00:20:47]:

And in doing so, over lockdown, I’d introduced a service called Headshots anywhere, which was exactly what it sounds like because, obviously, we couldn’t be indoors for a lot of the time. So I introduced a service where I go and do headshots in parks, or in other public places where we could socially distance and and and stay 2 meters apart and and and still take some nice photos. And that eventually became turned into my my what is now my personal branding service. And with the events industries with various events starting to come back on board, That sort of came to life again. So I’m at the stage now where I’m offering personal branding photography, business headshots, and event photography. The the the business is is is building nicely. If I can get it to the point where it’s fully sustainable, Which is my target. Then I will then look to return to acting, because acting is I saw something at the theater a few weeks ago, and I I just went I I need to be performing again.

Guy [00:21:50]:

Mhmm. I I can’t remember What it was. And, I saw, I went to see my favorite comedy group in Birmingham last week, and and I’m just like, I I need to be up there. I need to be doing this. Every time I go to the theater, it it just fulfills that it just reenergizes that desire to perform. And, That’s really bizarrely what is behind my photography business is is that I’ve created a business doing something else that I enjoy, and I do enjoy doing photography as much as I enjoy. No. That’s not true.

Guy [00:22:23]:

I enjoy it almost as much as I enjoy acting, but not quite as much. And, Yeah. So so the I’m still working towards becoming a fully sustainable business. But if I reach that point, it would enable me to to go back into into performing again, which is my ultimate goal.

Martin [00:22:40]:

Fantastic. I mean, when you’ve got a passion, you know, and you you’ve got the the possibility to follow that, and and to, you know, get Funded from that, then, you know, it’s it’s kind of like the sweet spot to be in, really. So, I mean, Thinking about the photography, like you say, the the the business is growing, you know, we’re getting more people through through the door or you’re going out to their doors. Is there anything you think that that people perhaps don’t think about enough when they’re when they’re starting to, you know, engage with a professional photographer?

Guy [00:23:13]:

Yeah. I think there’s a few things. Excuse me. One of the things is, I think people are often surprised at the cost of employing a photographer, which is is is quite interesting because, actually, earlier this year, I started working with a, a photography mentor, and, one of the activities she had me do was to To look at the amount of time and energy I was putting into the work that I was doing. And when I sat down and looked at the number of hours that are spent on a single job sorry. I’m gonna have to clear my thrat again.

Martin [00:23:45]:

Sure.

Guy [00:23:50]:

When I, looked at the amount of time and hours I was spending on on a single job, As well as the equipment that I was having to buy and the subscriptions and everything else that comes along with it. It actually became as a surprise to me, that I was vastly undercharging. So earlier this year, my prices went up quite a bit, and I think that’s quite a key thing. People I think people often think that it’s a person with a camera, And that’s not always the case. The the there are people out there who are just hobbyists. You’ve got a camera who will do your job 50 quid, And that’s fine, but there’s there’s so much more that goes into it. And this is without even considering the experience and the time spent learning the skills. There’s, you know, there’s a lot of a lot of time spent doing things like backing up your photos, going through your, you know, your storage.

Guy [00:24:38]:

Culling is a really interesting one. So after a shoot, you’re obviously getting rid of all the images that are out of focus, that are blurred, Someone’s got their eyes closed. You you know, they’re they’re, you know, they’re they’re never gonna be used, so you’re just deleting those straight away. But that process after a shoot can take, You know, take half an hour, an hour on on its own, and, obviously, more depending on the bigger the shoot, particularly something like event photography. I always say with event photography, however long I spend on the event, I’m also spending the same amount of time again doing the doing the work afterwards. But but to be honest, it’s probably more than that when you take into account everything else. Yeah. I think that’s that that that’s one thing is is is the the amount of of time and effort that goes into Tweaking images.

Guy [00:25:20]:

There’s also very, very subtle changes in images in editing. So when I was an actor, before I I got into photography, I didn’t fully understand What the photographers were doing with a an an I didn’t understand what the difference was between an edited photo and an unedited photo. Because a photographer, when you have your headshots, then we’ll send you the photos. You pick the 5 or however many as you want, and then they edit them. And I could never see the difference when they came back. But now as a photographer, I know there are lots of very, very subtle differences in there that you wouldn’t necessarily notice, but they are the thing that makes the photo stand out as a professional photo versus A photo taken by somebody who who hasn’t considered those things. And it can be something as simple as adding a very, very subtle vignette to to to bring the bring the viewer’s eye line to the place in the photo that that you want it to be. And that can be the difference between seeing a cluttered image And a, a very what appears to be a very calm focused image.

Guy [00:26:26]:

So, yeah, there’s all these little bits that’s involved as well.

Martin [00:26:29]:

Yeah. That’s really, again, kind of fascinating for me listening to that because, you know, being in website design, there’s so many parallels With the amount of work that goes on, that isn’t the front end of the the website that people see. And and it’s another one of those industries where Anybody could make one. You know, there’s not a big barrier to entry. But then it’s all those things from the simple bit of, you know, Yes. It looks great on desktop, but have you tried looking it on a mobile? And have you tried looking on different sizes of mobile because they’re all different now? And, you know, are you compliant with this law and that security thing. And, you know, are you inclusive in terms of how many people can actually use your website? Stuff that people just don’t even begin to think about. And then like you say, when you start to work with them, they’re like, I didn’t even know what I didn’t know.

Martin [00:27:21]:

And Yeah. That and very similar with the photography there.

Guy [00:27:24]:

But that’s fascinating, isn’t it? Because I I’ve I don’t know about you, but I’ve always tried to have this mentality of knowing what I don’t know, or try trying to know what I don’t know. And sometimes you you you don’t know until you get into those in-depth conversations about these things. I’ve it’s funny you mentioned websites because somebody looked over my website recently and and went, well, actually, you need to do x, y, and zed. I’ve never tried to claim my website as perfect because I’ve I’ve done it myself. You know, you know, and I’m and for me, it was it was just get it up, get a function out there, and then, you know, get get somebody to do the work on it when I’m ready. But it again, it like, until someone points out these things, you you you don’t always know what is what is working for you and what isn’t working for I think the same is true in photography. You know, you you can use you can the you can get some great photos now on on a lot of camera phones. What’s often missing is the composition and the, as I said, the attention to detail of these little bits that people wouldn’t necessarily be aware of.

Guy [00:28:25]:

So a lot of the time you look at a photo, and you know it’s a professional photo, And then you can try and recreate it with your own phone, and you can’t quite figure out why you can’t make it look like that. And I guess it’s a similar sort of thing in web design as well. In in, you know, I I’ve certainly tried to make my website as professional as it as it can be based on other websites I’ve seen, but There’s certainly lots of things that I don’t know within there, and and I and I can’t tweak. And I’m sure if you went over my website, you’d be able to poke holes in it all all the way through. But I think the thing is with with with photography is is the difference actually between what you’re doing and what I’m doing Is that the key thing in photography, and this get this gets lost quite a bit, is that actually the it’s the emotion that matters More more than the technical side of things. You can have a photo which is blurred, which is out of focus, which the the cameras caught the white balance wrong, But you’ve caught a moment, and that moment can’t be replicated. You know, the there’s, one of my services is is is, cat photography. So I offer cat photography, and and it’s a premium service because there’s there’s no point in me offering a service where I Just go around, take a few snaps of the cat, and and then leave because they will never be as you know, they’ll they’ll never be as interesting to a cat owner There’s the shots they’ve got on their phone because when when you are around a cat, the cat is obviously more relaxed surround its owners and change its behavior when someone comes in it doesn’t know.

Guy [00:30:00]:

But the cat will will will will do weird things at weird times. And if you’ve got you if all you’ve got is your camera phone Take a photo of that, and you’re able to snap that. That picture is worth more than a, you know, a finely posed photo because you’ve caught this emotion and and this moment. So I I don’t I don’t believe in the the snobbery around photography that exists in some circles about about technical expertise and equipment and things like that. I very much believe in capturing the right moments, and and that comes down to that’s more about having a personal relationship with your subject Or understanding what’s going on in a wider perspective than it is about, you know, whether you’ve got a 10,000 pound camera Or 15,000 pound

Martin [00:30:43]:

lens. Yeah. I think it’s a it’s a very, very good point. The composition, is the key. And and, also, I mean, you know, you’re talking about the cats and their behavior. I mean, I’ve obviously been to a few business networking events where you’ve been doing the the photography. And when someone’s aware that you’re about to take a shot of them, they immediately change their behavior.

Martin [00:31:05]:

And when you get to see several of the shots, So, I mean, I’m lucky enough, you know, to to to see quite a range of the shots that you do. It is those ones where people didn’t even know that they were being photographed, you know, where you say you you just get that that natural moment that, is impossible to pose for because, you know, they’re kinda darn tricky, obviously, aren’t they?

Guy [00:31:25]:

Yeah. Yeah. Obviously, I mean, it was interesting because I was I was at an event yesterday, that you’re also at. And and I was trying to take a photo of of a speaker, and and they they registered that I was there. And so I immediately took the flash off, turned my camera on to silent, And and tried to make myself small and and hide away, but they they tuned into where I was. And it it didn’t matter where I I was. They They they changed their behavior whenever I was taking a photo. So I I took a couple of photos because, ultimately, I was documenting the day, but it wasn’t particularly about emotion.

Guy [00:31:58]:

In this case, it was Raw reportage type photography. And then I just made my way out of the room because I realized, actually, I was having you know, me being there was having a negative effect on on the speaker, and the last thing, the last thing I wanna do. But I tried all the tricks in the book and then and then had to leave because there was nothing else I could do. So if somebody is that tuned into that, the the the There’s not a lot you can do, but, again, it comes down to the the the mission as well. You know? What is the objective behind the photography? Something like corporate photography. It’s usually more reportage. It’s normally about or corporate event photography, I should say. It’s about capturing the event and the spirit of the event.

Guy [00:32:34]:

And if I can capture those candid moments as well, which I like to think I’m quite good at because, you know, I I I do get a lot of the pictures of people smiling and laughing and And and having those genuine interactions. then that for me is they’re the shots that I love getting. It’s when you can see people are really Genuinely enjoying themselves, and relaxed. But like you say, that is the complete opposite of when you put somebody in Into a position and go, right now, I’m gonna take your photo, which is why I always say it’s it’s about the most important thing you can do is develop a relationship with your photographer. Certainly at the start until you get comfortable being in front of camera. And and, again, I’ve done this many times as as an actor. I’ve had I’ve had a series of headshots done by different photographers. And if I when I get my next set of headshots done, I’m gonna go to the same photographer who’s still in Brighton, but I’m gonna go down and see him again Because I have that relationship with him, and I know that he’ll do a good job.

Guy [00:33:29]:

And I and I know that I can get I’ve got a, a kind of What’s the word I’m looking for? I can’t find the word.

Martin [00:33:39]:

reporteee? connection?

Guy [00:33:40]:

Yeah. Yeah. The there’s a sort of reportee there, And we’re able to to to get the best out of me. But there are other elements as well. You know? You know? I always encourage people not to book a photoshoot On a day where they’ve got anything else in. Because if you if you’re coming from a meeting or you know you’ve got a meeting in the afternoon, then those things are gonna be running around in your head as well, and and that can that can affect, how how you look on camera as well. The amount of times where I’ve said that and someone’s turned up and and been stressed and anxious because they’ve just Come to a meeting or or or they’ve they’ve booked something else, and and and it really does come out in the photos. So I suppose that’s an to answer your earlier question again, that’s another thing that people don’t think about with with photography is is that, actually, to get the best out of it, you’ve gotta be relaxed, And you’ve gotta be able to to to be for me, you’ve gotta be authentic, and you’ve gotta be able to have that connection with the

Martin [00:34:33]:

photographer. Yeah. So, I mean, you mentioned you, you know, you you go back down to to to Brighton when you want some shots yourself. So I was just thinking, is is there anybody that that you admire nowadays, you know, either within photography or indeed any any of the other spheres. And and if so, why?

Guy [00:34:52]:

I think I I I I have a lot of respect for anybody who is able to be their authentic selves at all times. That’s always been my goal is that I, Again, unbeknown to me, not knowing that I had ADHD, I always felt like I’ve I’ve been masking, in in certain situations. And we all do it a little bit. You know? Everybody puts on a different face at work as they do versus home. But I’ve always felt like I I’ve not able to to to be myself in in certain situations. And I think the people that I that I admire the most Those that are authentically themselves at all times, and they tend to be performers Rather than anything else because performers are are generally able to do that, you know, particularly comedians and and and comedy actors Because the there’s there’s not that societal expectation of of having to, you know, having to fit in. If if you are a comedian, you’re seen as a bit of an anomaly from from society. So, you know, you you have license to to to to be, Yeah.

Guy [00:36:10]:

In quotes, a bit weird. I always said when I moved to Brighton, the the reason I fell in love with Brighton was because, Again, in in air quotes here, but no matter how you how weird you think you are, there’s always someone weirdert 10 yards behind you. I mean, that that is just Brighton. And and there’s such freedom in that. So so no one no one really springs to mind if I’m if I’m honest. There’s there’s people that, you know, I have a lot of professional respect for. There’s a there’s a guy called James Musselwhite who who works in he’s a wrestling photographer, and he does absolutely outstanding portraits. He he’s fantastic.

Guy [00:36:52]:

There’s, you know, the the The there’s I have my favorite comedy group are an Australian trio called auntie Donna, and I I I love every everything they do. I got to see them last week, and and that was That was absolutely fantastic. But the this the yeah. I I tend I tend not to Not to have idols or heroes. And if I do, it’ll be a transient thing. There’ll be someone else that comes along, as well. For me, it’s about being authentic, being able to to walk your own path, and and and the people who are most relevant at that time Are the ones I look up to.

Martin [00:37:31]:

Okay. Yeah. That that makes sense. I’m gonna switch tack slightly then and and, go for confession time as as they call it. If I was to ask you about the biggest mistake you’ve made in business, and would you be able to pick 1? Anything you managed to learn from it?

Guy [00:37:47]:

Yeah. I think so. I think it was, it was fairly recent, actually. It was a couple of years ago. I think I think when I when I first started Coming on to the the the scene in in in Leicester, I was, I was looking for I was looking for the money. Quite on the sales. I was trying to target where I thought the money was rather than what I actually wanted to do, And that resulted in in in me doing a couple of jobs that were underpaid and I didn’t particularly enjoy. And I think I’ve since then, I’ve I’ve had a radical overhaul of my marketing and my and my language on my website and my my branding.

Guy [00:38:31]:

And I think now again, it’s the same theme. It’s authenticity. Everything you see on my website is is a 100% authentic. I don’t chase the money. I chase the the the work that I want to do. And, actually, what I found from that is that The the the money is there, and the those people are now finding me. I had a booking a a a few months back For for an arts organization, which was just it was just my ideal customer to a tee. And not not only did they book me, but they they sold me to me on the phone.

Guy [00:39:09]:

And that told me that that was working, you know, the the the the that that, sort of work towards what I was doing was working. So, Again, I think I’ve it’s just made me double down on my commitment to being a 100% authentic at all times.

Martin [00:39:23]:

Yeah. No. That’s great. I mean, we In in all marketing, but, I mean, you know, in in digital marketing, we’re always teaching people that if you can get inbound marketing as opposed to outbound thing, I. E. People come and find you rather than you having to go and find potential customers. You you’re obviously in a much better space. And so, you know, when you’ve got that thing and and like you say, consistency, authenticity, they’re all a key point because at some point, you’re gonna stand out as you.

Martin [00:39:51]:

There are lots and lots of professional photographers. So Yeah. Why why do I choose Guy? You know? And and it’s that sort of thing, isn’t it?

Guy [00:40:00]:

Yeah. Absolutely. And and I think that’s particularly true as a freelancer in in most fields. You know? If you do particularly if you’re doing something creative, Why would someone work with you as a photographer? Why would someone work with you as a web designer? Why would someone work with you as a as a graphic designer? You know? Obviously, there there there’s Some differences in that. Everyone’s stylistically different. But, ultimately, you know, when I’m doing I always say when I’m doing something sorry. My throat again.

Martin [00:40:24]:

That’s it. So for anybody who’s only listening just on, Spotify, etcetera, Guy is just doing a little free form presentation at the moment, which is all in the, the aspect of Mime. Absolutely fantastic for for radio. Yeah…..and he’s back!

Guy [00:40:42]:

It’s it’s, the hay hay fever thing, I think. I’d stopped taking my hay fever stuff thinking, oh, it’s September now, and, Yeah. It’s coming back to haunt me. But, yeah, what was I saying? Oh, yes. So as a freelancer, how how are you gonna differentiate yourself? And, You know, there are certain stylistic things. So someone might might like my style of headshots or might like my style of Personal branding photography. So but, ultimately, when it comes to doing something like event photography, that’s pretty functional. You know? The the the the there’s not a Huge amount of difference you’re gonna get from 1 photographer for another in terms of of capturing the event.

Guy [00:41:22]:

And so The only thing in that case that you’ve got then really differentiate yourself on is your personality. So I try to put a personality into everything and let people decide whether they wanna work with me or not. And and and, again, you know, as you get older, I think you understand this more and more. But if someone doesn’t work with you, that’s fine. You know, it’s it’s it’s not a personal slide. It just means that you’re not meant to work together. That that’s all it is. And it’s better that you do that than end up taking work That neither of you in in enjoy or neither of you want to be to be part of.

Guy [00:41:53]:

So, again, a theme throughout my life, authenticity all the time.

Martin [00:41:57]:

Yeah. No. It’s it’s a good point. You do learn it as, as you get older or more experienced, exactly what you’ve said. You know? You can’t work with everybody, so, why not work with people they enjoy working with? So, I mean, you’ve obviously done a lot of different things, etcetera. Anything left on your bucket list?

Guy [00:42:15]:

Oh, I was thinking about this. I I I I don’t really know. I mean, I’ve I’ve I’ve worked as an actor professionally. I’ve worked in the wrestling industry, which is a bucket list thing for me to do. I I I would still like to put together a comedy group. I’m very specific about what what I wanna do with that. I I say it’s a case of finding the right people. I’m also the wrong age to do that really, quite honestly, now.

Guy [00:42:43]:

But, I’m I’m still common. I I could do something which is, which is entertaining. I I bizarrely, the the thing that’s that’s been that I’ve been thinking of lately is completely unrelated to anything. And it it recently, I’ve reconnected with my with my old passion of football. So as a youngster, I was obsessed with football up until I was about 23, 24, And then I just fell out of love with it completely and started pursuing creative things. And recently, I’ve I’ve started looking at football again, and I and I’ve been, You know what? I’d quite like to to get involved in football in some way. You know you know, again, in a professional manner, but As a scout or or as a coach or or something like that. But then I I think, you know, it’s it’s not, again, I would have to, you know, significantly invest in in in training and development and that sort of thing, and it’ll be a complete career change.

Guy [00:43:36]:

But aside from that, I I I I do think I’ve pretty much had a go at everything that I want to do. You know? I I’ve I’ve put on I’ve put on fringe shows. You know, I’ve done done 1 hour comedy shows on my own. I’ve done, I said I’ve I’ve been involved as a rest investing as a commentator. I’ve I’ve been involved in a match, although I was in it for less than 30 seconds. I got thrown out straight away of a rumble. You know, and I’ve I’ve done all these other bits and bobs. So so, really, the the only thing that’s That was left for me would be outside of that, or, conversely, to, you know, to obtain a a significant level of within those industries.

Guy [00:44:14]:

And and, well, success for me just means making a living from it. It, you know, I I have I have no desire to Move to Hollywood. I have no desire to, you know, to to to be making 1,000,000 of pounds. I I just just wanna make a a nice comfortable living From those things, that’s really, I think, all I have left.

Martin [00:44:34]:

Brilliant. Well, do you know what? I mean, there’s There’s enough material here, I think, to do several more episodes. And particularly, you know, you’ve We’ve got sort of 40 minutes in before we’ve made you football, and and, you know, it’s probably best I don’t focus on that because I could speak about that for a very long time. And not everybody listen Strangely, I can’t understand it, but apparently not every listener is fascinated by football. It’s funny old world, isn’t it? But, Yeah. I think, we’ll we’ll need to draw this one for you.

Guy [00:45:04]:

Who do you support before you leave?

Martin [00:45:06]:

I am an AFC Bournemouth supporter.

Guy [00:45:09]:

Oh, interesting. Yeah. And you? I’m a Leicester fan

Martin [00:45:12]:

Okay. Yep.

Guy [00:45:13]:

Yeah. I’m for Leicester City.

Martin [00:45:14]:

Well, at at the point of recording, that’s a good thing to be because they are doing extremely well this season. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Well, maybe we’ll we’ll catch up at at a game then because I I do go and watch Leicester now and again. But for now, I’m gonna say, thank you very much for your for your time. It’s been brilliant. Loved it.

Guy [00:45:34]:

Yeah. Thank you, Martin.

Martin [00:45:36]:

So if people wanna find out more, and there’s there’s quite clearly a whole heap more stuff Yeah. On-site. Where do they get ahold of you in terms of online websites, social media, etcetera?

Guy [00:45:46]:

Well, the the the photography is all under Guy Walsh Photography. So Guy Walsh Photography.co.uk, Photography on Instagram, Photography on Facebook, Photography on TikTok, although there’s not much on there at the moment. I also have another website which I created to to cover the vast breadth of everything that I do, which is just Guy Walsh.info. So if you wanna look at anything else, it covers Wrestling, it covers, my acting career. It covers, ADHD stuff. There’s a whole load of stuff on there. I also I haven’t talked about today is I have another business called Kind and Curious, which I’ve not been ending with for months but months. But that that info that runs acting workshops, for teaching life skills using acting workshops.

Guy [00:46:32]:

So everything else everything else that is a part of me that isn’t photography is at Guy Walsh.info. And, as I said, Guy Walsh Photography is everything

Martin [00:46:42]:

else. Brilliant. Fantastic. Well, Guy, it’s Fantastic to to spend today as as I’ve said. Hey, dear listener. Please show some some love for Guy. Check out all the show notes and the links to the website, and the socials. They’re all on marketharborbiznetwork.co.uk/podcast.

Martin [00:47:04]:

And even better, you know, join in. Leave a comment. Leave a question, a suggestion. We really appreciate you listening to the show, and we wanna make it as good for you as it possibly can be. And, hey, if you wanna be a guest on the show just like I’ve been there, take advantage. Or, sorry, you could also take advantage of our early adopter sponsorship deals. Get a get a great deal for sponsoring the show. We’d love to hear from you either way.

Martin [00:47:29]:

Just pop along to the website for more details. This episode of Harborough Hustle is sponsored by Roman Britons websites. Check out them at romanbritons.com. Thank you very much again, Guy, and, catch you on the next one,

Guy [00:47:45]:

Thank you, Martin.