Meet Briea Williams: Owner of Herrington Photo Company

We had the good fortune of connecting with Briea Williams and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Briea, why did you pursue a creative career?
Photography has always been a love of mine, but I never thought I could make a career out of it. I hit so many road blocks in my 20s and everything I tried to pursue just didn’t work out for me not only were things not working out for me but I felt deeply unfulfilled and I finally decided to take a chance on my passion and see what I could build for myself through my love of photography.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My work is very personal to me most of the people I shoot I like to get to know them or cultivate some sort of relationship with them. By doing this I feel that I have an opportunity to shoot who they are and not necessarily how others perceive them. What sets me apart from most photographers is the time I spend with my subject I don’t do 10 minute phone conversations just to go over how the shoot is going to go or what package they’re picking, but rather I take the time to try to get to know them. I always ask questions about who they are, or where they’re from. I feel that by doing that I get a sense of who they are and in having a better understanding of them I believe it reflects in each photograph. When I first started shooting I was really trying to find my way, and I was really trying to work on my style (which I still haven’t figured out completely) but I’m proud that I’m not trying to fit into anyone’s box, I’m proud that I feel like I’m actually starting to gain some ground in the photography industry and most importantly I’m proud that I’m doing it my way. I can honestly say I’ve made it this far in my photography because I wasn’t afraid to shoot for free, I wasn’t afraid to ask for help or take classes when I didn’t understand settings on my camera. I was open, I was honest about having little experience other than taking pictures on my phone and I believe that people really believed in me and that was the first step. I work really hard at my craft and while I don’t shoot every single day I’m consistent & my consistency has led me to more work and better opportunities. When people ask me about Herrington Photo Company and how I started my business I simply say, “I just started” there wasn’t an ah-ha! moment for me, I just did what I believed was best for me. If I’m being completely honest I didn’t know if it was going to work out, but now I know nothing is impossible when your heart and mind are pressed toward whatever is you want to accomplish. I want people to know that I take pride in my business and that I believe life is about service not to myself or my family but to others and I believe my company is a reflection of that. At Herrington we want to give people the best service possible and we want them to leave feeling better than they came.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend is visiting we’re definitely going to hit all of my favorite spots from Little 5 Points, I love Savage Pizza so we would probably stop there and grab a slice. Hit The Belt Line & check out all the artwork, The Virginia Highlands have a lot of cute bars so could just pick one and go for it. The Jackson Street Bridge has a beautiful view of the skyline so definitely hit there or take her to The West End Brewery it’s a lot of cool things to do in and around that brewery.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Absolutely! My family has supported me in more ways than one my mother Jewel and my sister Brittney are the ones who encouraged me to go after this dream. They’re the ones who told me I can do it afraid and still be successful and whether people say it or not you need people to hold your hand sometimes and you need people to believe in you even when you don’t believe in yourself.

Website: www.herringtonphotocompany.com

Instagram: Briea_williams

Image Credits
Herrington Photo Company