Photographer, Speaker, Mentor and Educator; William Long is arguably one of Australia’s most reputable, successful and technically diverse professional photographers. In addition to winning numerous national and international professional awards across multiple photographic categories, William has been recognised for his excellence in Photography with Fellowships from the British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP) and the Royal Photographic Society (RPS). In 2014, William was also the recipient of a rare Honorary Life Membership from the Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP), and then in 2016 awarded an Honorary Life Membership from the British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP) in recognition of his outstanding professionalism and voluntary work in the Photographic Industry. He is also a recipient of Quintuple Gold Bars – AIPP Master of Photography from the AIPP.

Born in Rochford, Essex, William trained as a professional classical ballet dancer from the age of 6. By his twenties he was touring the world’s stages as a Principal Dancer with The Scottish Ballet, including performances with industry greats such as Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn. After a crippling back injury, which brought his professional ballet career to an unexpected and premature end, William focussed his creative talent and determination on his other passion – photography.

William’s background in the performing arts taught him the benefits of a disciplined lifestyle, rigorous practise, constant professional development, and the ability to focus on both small and large details simultaneously. He brings to photography the talent to clearly understand composition, a highly trained eye for detail and form, a refined appreciation of lighting and its technical and creative uses, the ability to translate emotion into art, and the gift of bringing a story to life for audiences.

As a result of William’s extraordinary skill, attention to detail and talent for creating consistently astounding imagery; his multifaceted photography career has seen him not only awarded the titles of Commercial, Illustrative and Portrait Photographer Of The Year on numerous occasions since the 1990s, but has also seen him regarded as a top 5 UK Dance photographer, and more recently, one of the top 5 Australian Architectural photographers. William’s photography has been featured in hundreds of publications internationally, including The New York Times, South China News and Time magazine; and he has also photographed many international artists including The Rolling Stones, Neil Diamond and Willem Dafoe.

William prefers to avoid the labels traditionally applied to professional photographers, such as Architectural, Commercial, Fashion, Portrait, Wedding etc. He has proven himself professionally in all of these areas over the last 20 plus years, and has come to realise that these titles are a burden rather than an asset, which narrow potential clients’ expectations of his talents and service offerings. William would rather be known as an industry leading Professional Photographer of Choice.

In addition to his award winning photography, William has also developed his career as a sought-after internationally-recognised speaker, competition judge, mentor and industry advocate. He continues to use his talent to educate, guide and inspire other photographers at every level, both locally and worldwide, through his mentoring programs, workshops and online groups. William is also the Founder and Managing Director of PhotoWatchDog, a private industry advocacy concern that lobbies companies, governments, organisations and individuals who produce photographic competitions to establish fair terms and conditions for all entrants.

Professional Recognition

• Hon LM AIPP
• Hon LM BIPP
• M.Photog V
• L.APP
• FNZIPP
• FBIPP
• FRPS
• Ilford Master
• Eizo Ambassador
• Lowepro Ambassador
• Member of the United Nations International Photographic Council

Major Awards

• 2016 Qld AIPP Commercial Photographer of the Year
• 2014 Honorary Life Member BIPP
• 2015 Qld AIPP Commercial Photographer of the Year
• 2014 Qld AIPP Commercial Photographer of the Year
• 2014 Quintuple Gold Bar – Master of Photography (AIPP) M.Photog V
• 2014 Honorary Life Member AIPP
• 2013 AIPP Australian Professional Commercial Photographer of the Year
• 2013 Qld AIPP Commercial Photographer of the Year
• 2011 Qld AIPP Commercial Photographer of the Year
• 2009 Qld AIPP Commercial Photographer of the Year
• 2009 European Professional Photographer of the Year – Finalist
• 2006 Qld AIPP Commercial Photographer of the Year
• 2002 Qld AIPP Commercial Photographer of the Year
• 2000 British BIPP Portrait Photographer of the Year
• 2000 Qld AIPP Portrait Photographer of the Year
• 1998 Australian AIPP Illustrative Photographer of the Year
• 1997 Qld AIPP Professional Photographer of the Year
• 1997 Qld AIPP Illustrative Photographer of the Year
• 1996 Qld AIPP Illustrative Photographer of the Year
• 1995 Qld AIPP Commercial Photographer of the Year

Photographic Industry Involvement

PhotoWatchDog — Founder and Managing Director

PhotoWatchDog provides the education to ensure fair Terms and Conditions for photographic competitions for both entrants and organisers.

Previous Photographic Industry Positions

• Vice National President AIPP
• Vice National President ACMP
• State President of Queensland Division of AIPP
• AIPP National Membership & Accreditation Committee Member
• QPPA Chairman and Chairman of Jurors.