Stamford College Photographer Goes Behind the Lens at Women’s Super League Match

Willow Gill, a former Level 3 Photography and Video student, has had the amazing opportunity to photograph at the Chelsea Women’s Super League pre-season game against AC Milan.

After the game, Willow shared her experience with us, saying, “It’s an experience I can’t put into words! The crowd was great, and I just felt really lucky the whole time. I’ve photographed semi-professional football and Ice Hockey games before, but this was different, the atmosphere and just how official everything felt. I honestly felt like I had to hide my excitement around players like Hannah Hampton, Lucy Bronze and Millie Bright.” 

Willow is already making her mark in the professional world, having successfully launched her own business, Willow Florence Photography. She shared that the College was a real stepping stone for developing her skills and allowing her to get to the level she’s at today, “I had always been a creative person and had a great time with art GCSE, I had a low-level entry camera and just wanted to have fun for a few years! It turns out photography is my passion, and that leap of faith was the best thing I could have done at that moment.” 

“The basics of using a camera were some of the most valuable lessons for me, coming into the course as a complete beginner. But also idea generation and thinking creatively, whether that was in your own shoot or website design, working collaboratively with others or just working around problems.” 

Willow had the opportunity to take photos after being in contact with the Chelsea Women’s Official Photographer. She said, “We spoke so much about shooting and editing in game, how she got the job and what options I have for my future.” She added, “Afterwards, we sat in the press room and went through my work, which was so useful. The experience of working with someone who’s full-time job is my dream was so incredible.” 

Just after starting the Level 3 course at Stamford College, Willow found her passion for Sports Photography after being given a 6-week project based on community, “My family have always been in sports. It was a lot of fun getting to work with teams and just shooting action, this project made me fall in love with shooting sports, and I never looked back. Every project in College, following this I tweaked to fit sports photography and my tutors were so supportive!”

Congratulations, Willow! We are incredibly proud of this achievement and look forward to celebrating your future successes!