Today we’d like to introduce you to William Becknell.
Hi William, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
My father bought my first camera when I was nine years old. Ever since then, I’ve had a passion capturing the best in people’s smiles or expressions. I would ask my mother to take me to the local Foto-Moto in my hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, whenever I completed shooting a roll of film. I couldn’t wait to see the finished product. As a youngster, most of my photos were around our home, family get-togethers, or outside with my dog.
When I got to high school, I took every course we offered at Booker T. Washington. Mr. John Duncan was our teacher and a great mentor to me over the years. He taught us that you had to be pretty good at math and know the three basic things when it came to photography – aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. I was given carte blanche to take photos around our school and even sporting events when I wasn’t participating.
Going away to college at Grambling State University in Grambling, Louisiana, I had outgrown the camera that my father bought me and by not having the use my high school’s cameras, I was forced to take a break from photography. But not for long. I was able to take all of the photography courses that Grambling offered from Mr. George Moody and Dr. Sandra Lee with a borrowed department camera. I was comfortable again, back in the darkroom, rolling my own film, dodging and burning and smelling Ilford photo paper and D-76. I was in heaven!
Later, into my Junior year, I saved enough money to buy a manual focus 35mm Minolta X-700 from the local pawn shop in Ruston. I then joined the yearbook staff at the recommendation of my friend Melanie Thomas. That’s where I really flourished. Glen Lewis was the yearbook editor and university photographer. He took me under his wing and taught me even more about photography, and came to trust me with a key to the darkroom. I photographed everything at Grambling. from school clubs, fraternities and sororities, faculty and staff, campus life, as well as sporting events at home and on the road, and would often stay in the darkroom into the early morning to complete my work. Glen became my photography and life mentor, and we still keep in touch now – 28 years later. He’s awesome!
After graduating college and moving to Dallas, Texas, I would shoot mini photoshoots for friends around town and at my apartment, as well as at parties that my brother Shawn Henderson and his fraternity brother Rob Perry would throw around town. I would have to give them credit for getting my foot in the door on the Dallas photography scene.
Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of shooting for a lot of people in and around Dallas. My main areas of concentration are events and portraits. I enjoy those most because I get to interact and network with people.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a sales professional in the tech industry for over 25 years has given way to meeting many interesting people. The obstacle or challenge for me is time. I’m not ready to give up my 9 to 5 because I enjoy it immensely; however, photography is my love that I don’t have enough time for at times. Outside of work and photography, I have another business, and I’m very active in my church, in my fraternity, as well as in my community. Photography has been a fairly smooth road for me. I got in at a very early age, learned a lot, and progressed smoothly. It’s my release that I need to make more time for.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I love being a photographer. When shooting photos for clients, I ask for creative control over their photos. If I don’t like a photo/portrait in color, I’ll flip it to black and white and manipulate the color palate. While my dress code may be somewhat conservative, my shoes and my photographic art isn’t always. I’ve been known to “Take it there” with both. 🙂 I specialize in people. Their expressions, their moods, their smiles. I’m known for never meeting a stranger. One of the things that set me apart is that my friends and family often tease me and say that I know “EVERYBODY!” I believe I’m like that because when I meet people, I genuinely want to get to know them more intimately and not just in superficial ways. The photographer in me never forgets a face, so when I see them again, we’re able to converse on more than just the weather. If we talk long enough, we’ll have a few friends in common, have traveled to some of the same places, or eaten some wonderful food in the same restaurants. I’m most proud of being a father to 4 daughters.
What matters most to you?
Things that matter most to me are my relationship with God, my wife, my children, and humanity. I’m acutely interested in people and their well-being. My personal life motto is: “I am so that others can be.” Starting from our home and branching out, we make conscious efforts to be of service to each other and to society. We’ve taught our children that “Service is the price we pay, for the space we occupy.” -Marian Wright Edleman, and to be productive citizens in the world.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.becknellphotography.com
- Instagram: William Becknell Photography
- Facebook: William Becknell Photography
Image Credits
William Becknell Photography
Opening headshot of me was by Henry LaGrone – Owner of Parkway Studios in Plano, TX.
