Mike Will

Shooters is an online community dedicated to meeting up with like-minded people and taking photographs. Niall Hampton finds out more about the network from its founder

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You might not have heard of Shooters but it's a great way of meeting up with like-minded people who enjoy taking photographs. Powered by social media, Shooters runs events ('meet-ups') in places including the UK, the US and Europe. It was founded by Mike Will, a former professional ice hockey player and photography enthusiast, now a full-time photographer, content creator and director. Having seen his 'From Beginner to $1 Million Shoot (vlog)' YouTube video earlier this year, we were keen to find out more about Will's photography journey, why he founded Shooters and what attendees can expect.

How did you get into photography, and why? 

I started out shooting at night for fun – I really enjoyed night-time photography and wanted to learn everything about it, so there was real excitement for me around getting to shoot whenever I could. I used to get one day off a week, whatever the conditions, so I used that time to learn and improve my photography.

What was your former day job? 

I played ice hockey for 10 years. Photography was something I did on the side, every Monday. I started playing hockey when I was pretty young and put a lot of time and dedication into it. Something I learned early on in life was that if you want something, it’s there so go and get it.

The sacrifice, the determination and the mentality that you need to succeed is something that came from my sporting roots and I transformed it into photography and being creative. I feel it really helped with the discipline that I instantly put on myself to learn and have fun with what I wanted to do.