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Hi. My name’s Abby, and

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I’m one of the photographers for the Red Arrows.

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My job involves taking imagery to post on social media.

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We also do the safety filming

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for when they practice the displays.

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And another special thing about our role is we get to sit in the back of the jet

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for the season and capture imagery from the air.

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So at school I took the normal GCSEs.

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I also took media studies and travel and tourism.

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I then went on to sixth form

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and also studied media studies and health and social care.

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I then realized I didn’t actually like it as much as I thought,

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so I left after a year.

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I then had a year out

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searching for every job you can imagine.

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I really struggled with this.

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I basically ended up getting a Friday job at a cake shop

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and then I started researching about photography jobs

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because I’ve always been

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interested in photography.

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One aspect was wildlife photography, but

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you need so many qualifications, it’s very competitive.

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So – done a bit of research and the photography

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in the Air Force came up – basically applied

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and now I’m here.

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So after doing my basic training, trade training,

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I was posted to RAF Wittering

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for about two years and then to Brize Norton,

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which was more of a trials unit doing technical photography.

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And then I was posted to RAF Scampton with the Red Arrows

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and this is more of a public relations type role.

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The turning point for me was when I joined the military, I wasn’t

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in the mindset that I wanted to travel, but

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later down the line

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I realized, actually, I want to make the most of the military

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whilst I’m in and I want to take advantage of all the opportunities they had.

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And I’ve actually been really lucky.

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So when I was at Brize Norton, I got to travel to America

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quite a few times and I took advantage of

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doing a ski expedition to Germany.

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And now I’m in the Red Arrows. It’s

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it is very busy with

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travel and actually it’s

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probably the best post I will get whilst I’m in the military. So

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I’m eagerly going to make the most of it

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while some here and enjoy the travel I get.

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In my role it’s important to have good teamwork skills – leadership skills

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is also very important

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because you need to be able to tell people where to stand, what to do.

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You have to be able to make them feel confident and comfortable in the situation

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of taking their photos or videoing them.

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If I was to give myself any advice to my younger self, I would tell myself

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not to overthink, because over the years you will make plenty of mistakes.

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But these mistakes make you who you are and get you to a point in life

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where you’re meant to be.

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So try not to beat yourself up because

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we’re only human and we will make mistakes.

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So just try and plan and prep yourself as much as possible for every situation.

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And you can only do your best.