Daily Inspiration: Meet Harley Bonham

Today we’d like to introduce you to Harley Bonham.

Hi Harley, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Well, I never planned on making photography and video a full-time career. It started in college when I needed to choose an elective, and I thought, “What is the easiest blow-off class I can find?” So, I chose Photography 101 out of sheer laziness and was hooked from the first day. It was a hobby for about 15 years, but around 1999, I had built up a good collection of Arizona sunset and desert images, and co-workers wanted to buy them. That also led to some family sessions and the occasional wedding, but it was still part-time for a few years. In fact, until around 2010, I was a full-time musician, playing bass, piano, and guitar in bands and on solo gigs; I also did dueling pianos for about 5 years, which was a blast. I became more serious about photography when my daughter, Reagan, was born. Maybe it was because I didn’t want to spend every night in bars performing for drunk people. I had already built up some experience with weddings and corporate events, but I wanted more from my work. I only knew how to shoot by natural light for a long time and thought the term “natural light photographer” sounded sexy. It was code for “I don’t know how light works,” and I noticed that my work looked like everybody else’s, but beginners gotta start somewhere. However, the last thing I wanted was to be generic, so I went to a lighting workshop: my mind was blown!

I quickly learned the approach of “creating images” instead of just “taking pictures.” As a “natural lighter,” I had to settle for whatever mother nature gave me, but once I learned good flash skills, I could deliver even in the worst conditions. As a result, business started taking off. My better half, Julie, has also been instrumental in our growth. As my reputation grew and more calls came in, she convinced me I needed to train and hire other photographers instead of saying, “Sorry, unavailable.” I listened, and we now have about 15-20 photographers and videographers doing a fabulous job, and we’ve grown the business much larger. She also predicted I’d get into video. I said, “No way,” but, as usual, she was right. Now I work a lot for Phoenix Children’s Hospital and Cafe Monarch and shoot videos for weddings and high-end corporate events.

The best part is the travel and having a team I trust when we’re out of town. We’ve been fortunate enough to go to Rome, Barcelona, Slovenia, and Hawaii, to name a few. I’ve also had to send some of my team out of town, like to Grand Cayman, Cancun, and San Diego, when I’m already committed to another trip. Julie often gets to go along to “assist,” and sometimes Reagan gets to join us. Julie and I are super grateful that the calls keep coming, and 2022 almost doubled 2019, our previous best year. We’ve built many great relationships with event producers, caterers, DJs, wedding venues, and many other folks we love working with. So I turned my hobby into a career if I could do the same thing with golf.

Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The first few years saw a small amount of progress, but I also wasn’t fully committed because I was more into being a working musician playing 6-7 nights a week. I don’t think we’ve ever had an “epic fail” on a job, but we have had some “coulda done better” learning experiences that proved very valuable.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. What can you tell our readers who might need to be more familiar with what you do?
When it comes to wedding work, people know me for dramatic lighting, especially at sunset. Before I knew how to use light, there were only 2 options to photograph a couple against a dramatic Arizona sunset: I either had to silhouette them against the colorful sky or, worse, increase exposure to see them but, in doing so, you over-expose the sky, and it’s gone. Instead, I learned to expose the sky to capture that drama, then add flash immediately to light the couple. That gives me a huge advantage over my limitations as a natural light photog. I bring that same skill set to be corporate, and while we don’t shoot a lot of sunsets in that genre, the lighting skills give them much better quality images than they got from previous photographers (their words, not mine!). As a result, there have become tons of repeat clients and lots of travel. They want consistency, so I’ve been able to rack up the frequent flier miles. The other main thing is personality: feedback tells me I’m super easy to work with, always have a positive, outgoing attitude, and make people comfortable around me.

Who else deserves credit for your story?
My wife Julie is the #1 reason we’ve grown. She convinced me to “let go” and trust others to shoot for me once I taught them what I knew. Also, one of my heroes is Joe McNally. He’s world-renowned and has shot for National Geographic, among many other notable publications. He’s my off-camera flash hero, and many of my skills are copied from his books.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.HarleyBonham.com
• Instagram: @harleybonhamphotography
• Facebook: harleybonhamphotography

Image Credits
All images by Harley Bonham. All rights reserved.