TAFE NSW Nepean alumnus, Aidan Williams received his first camera at the age of five years, now at the age of 23 he has been awarded some of Australia’s top photography awards, including Australasia’s Top Sports Photographer and Aperture Emerging Photographer of the Year 2019, for his adventure sports photography.

Growing up, Aidan vividly remembers attending school camps with his disposable Kodak camera, taking photos of anything that took his interest. His love for photography only grew from there and now he is working in an industry that’s set to see around 9,000 job openings over the next five years.[1]

“I always knew I wanted to be a photographer, so when I finished school I enrolled in the Diploma of Photo Imaging at TAFE NSW Nepean as the course was a lot more hands-on than others I’d looked into and would teach me the practical skills I needed to work as a freelance photographer.

“I really thrived in the environment at TAFE NSW as it was very positive and I found my teachers would really inspire me and push me every day to further develop my skills. They’d always take the time to stay back after class and provide feedback on my work and let me attend extra lectures to expand my knowledge.” said Mr Williams.

With a desire to continue to develop his skills, after graduating from TAFE NSW Nepean in 2017, Aidan completed internships with Getty Images and News Limited before discovering his love for extreme sport photography.

“I fell in love with the extreme sport of slacklining on a trip to Tasmania, where I heard about one of my idols, Krystle Wright photographing the sport, which involves walking or balancing along a suspended length of nylon webbing fixed between two anchored points.

“From there I did everything I could to research the sport and its athletes, which lead me to a group of slack liners in the Blue Mountains. After taking photos of their training I decided to book a one way ticket to Europe where the sport is big, to pursue my dream.”

Since then, Aidan has travelled to more than 40 countries for the sport and has photographed nine world records.

His dedication to his art has paid off with his photos published in National Geographic magazine and the chance to work with amazing clientele including Canon Australia and Canada, Redbull, Cotopaxi, Petzl and The North Face.

“If it wasn’t for my peers and teachers at TAFE NSW, I wouldn’t be doing what I love every day. They pushed me to explore areas outside my comfort zone and helped shaped me to be the photograph that I am today.”

To find out more about studying photography at TAFE NSW visit www.tafensw.edu.au or call 131 601.

Media contact: Emma Cawley, TAFE NSW Media and Communications Business Partner, mobile 0412 478 415.