PEYTON WILLARD
PROFILE STORY
From being a teenager, managing social media pages, going to school, being active in the surf photography world, and playing sports, Peyton Willard is on the search for a career as a professional surf photographer.
Peyton Willard is a 17-year-old surf photographer, from St. Augustine Beach, Fla., that is working harder than ever to produce some of his most impressive photography released. This passion for photography has presented him with many experiences and opportunities to further develop his skills. Photos from Willard’s portfolio are available on his Instagram page @peytonwillard_.
Willard’s passion for photography has not only led him to travel to Hawaii and up and down Florida, but it has also allowed him to capture photographs of professional surfers: Caroline Marks, John John Florence, Conner Coffin, Seth Muniz, Tatiana Web, Nathan Florence, Koa Smith, and many others.
Currently, Willard is building his surf photography portfolio, as he is paid from The Surf Station, a local surf shop in Saint Augustine, for blogs and photos that Van’s and Channel Islands repost on their social media accounts.
Willard’s goals of traveling to better surf breaks with better surfers will give him the opportunity and experiences he needs to grow his photography in the future.
“Hopefully California, Nicaragua, and Australia soon! But mainly California! I want to shoot Lowers so badly,” Willard said.
Being homeschooled by his parents, who own their own company, has also influenced Willard to work hard at his goal/task at hand.
His subject focus has shifted towards surf photography, over the past two years, as he first began taking photos of the weather.
“I loved the weather a lot and my mom had a camera, so I took it and took pictures of clouds and stuff and this eventually evolved,” Willard said.
Photographers who have inspired Willard with his surf photography passion are Ryan Miller and Jimmy Wilson, surf photographers from St. Augustine, Fla. who have made it big.
Currently, he shoots with a Sony A6000, Sony 200–600mm lens, Sony 50mm f1.8 lens, and an Aquatech water housing to get the best shots possible.
Although his portfolio is very impressive, Willard hopes to improve on his patience with photography.
“I want to get to the top super fast and I need to learn patience because it is going to take time,” Willard said.
Outside of photography, Willard enjoys playing high school football, weight lift, and overall anything that has to do with athletics. These interests provide him with the experience and knowledge to further pursue his photography skills.
“Football has taught me to never give up because of the fortune the future might possibly hold,” Willard said.
Unfortunately, time management isn’t always the easiest to balance as a teenager, especially when depending upon the weather.
“During football season when a decent swell comes, I most likely can’t shoot it unless it’s over the weekend because school and football take over my entire day,” said Willard.
With recent setbacks, in Hawaii, he also recommends for people following in his footsteps of becoming a surf photographer, to not give up because it takes patience.
“I almost quit shooting while in Hawaii because I felt like no one gave me the time of day for the shots I took,” said Willard.
Fortunately, he has recently achieved some of his biggest accomplishments with his surf photography.
“Channel Islands posted my photo of Gabe Kling earlier during the winter and since then, I’ve been posted by Lost, Channel Islands again, and Vans,” Willard said.
Peyton Willard’s surf photography portfolio can be found on his Instagram page @peytonwillard_. Where he only posts his best shots and uses hashtags to reach his goal of becoming a professional photographer.
“I hope to become a freelance photographer and follow the CT around the world, become a staff photographer for a brand, or a private photographer for a CT surfer,” Willard said.
