Regina Wyllie is a talented and capable photographer. Like many professionals, she fell in love with the craft at a young age and got her start as an assistant. Unlike many photographers, however, she is still at that young age. Having not yet completed her first decade, Regina has done such a good job assisting her father, Kevin Wyllie (an actual working photographer), that a bride and groom requested her by name.
The young photographer’s notoriety is a result not just of her age, but of her vision and professionalism. By age seven, she was shooting cameras in full manual mode, adjusting all aspects of exposure herself. Partly thanks to her size, she also brings a unique perspective to a wedding shoot, noticing moments and capturing angles that might otherwise be overlooked (no pun intended).
Regina shoots with Fujifilm mirrorless cameras, a choice that helps keep the size and weight down, but the gear in her bag is decidedly professional: X-T1 and X-E1 cameras with XF 35mm F1.4 and XF 18mm F2 lenses. She worked alongside Kevin for the entire duration of the wedding, from prep to reception, shooting the whole time. (And yes, her images are good enough to be delivered to the clients.)
As reported in Fuji Rumors, the young X-series photographer began getting widely noticed after camera bag manufacturer ThinkTank requested to use her photo in an ad. The image depicts her father, who is wearing a ThinkTank belt pack, photographing a bride during a “trash the dress” shoot. The ad went out on the company’s Facebook page and that’s when newspapers began calling, according to a blog post by Kevin.
“I never would have thought to take her along to a full wedding,” Kevin writes on his blog. “But it was at the bride and groom’s request…she set up some really nice shots that I wish I had thought of.”
With her success as a shooter, Kevin is now helping Regina learn the ins and outs of editing in Adobe Lightroom. Which makes us ask, “What were you doing at nine-years-old?”
