Kym Illman, the F1 photographer passionate about drama and drivers

Here it is back in action. Under the Bahrain sun, while the drivers have found the wheel again, Kym has found his camera again. This Australian has taken advantage of the F1 “boom” to make circuits his main muse. « I started photography and thought that F1 was a good way to take a lot of photos and be part of a sport that is at its peak in the world. That’s the reason that made me start. »

Himself a rally driver in 2005, he turned his passion for motorsports into a full-fledged career. « I love motorsports. It’s not my first love, but I love the passion that surrounds it, the drama that can happen, the emotions, and being a part of something that grows so quickly. I don’t think I could have chosen a better time to start. »

Businessman first and foremost.

However, he had a very different life before Formula 1. I worked in banking, then in radio for 5 years, and then I went to Perth to become an audio engineer for 2 years. Thank you, they fired me, which led me to start my own company in 1998, Messages On Hold, which has been a real success with 90 employees currently working there. It’s a good business, and I told my management that I was going to try Formula 1. This change of life began in 2017, the date of his first accreditation for the winter testing in Barcelona. I thought that maybe it was enough to start, just for one day, and then I submitted an application to the FIA, showing them what I could do and asking for a 6-month accreditation.

He finally applies for a several-month accreditation to the FIA, explaining his desire to adopt an innovative coverage of the competition. The FIA clearly appreciated what they heard since they approved it. At that time, Liberty Media has just taken over the reins of F1 from Bernie Ecclestone. The American officials, who are more open to non-traditional media, have therefore accepted, which seemed completely impossible a few seasons earlier, during the Ecclestone era. « I don’t think I would have had the chance to do it during Bernie Ecclestone’s time, it was too closed off. »

« I just tried. I like the fact of proposing something different. “Here’s what I can do for your sport,” and I think I came at the right time. I was proposing to do things that nobody was doing. I don’t know why they said yes, but I know that the person who did it made the best decision of their life because at that time nobody was doing the content that I do,” he laughs. Since then, Kym hasn’t missed a Grand Prix. « I’m in my 5th season since in 2020 nobody could go to the Grand Prix except for 10 or 20 photographers. I’ve only missed 4 races since I started,” she says.

To show the drivers more than the racing scenes

The human. This is his trademark. His thing is to photograph the backstage life of drivers and share it almost live with his community on social media. « I try to do quick things, like talking about the pilots’ helmets, who the press attaches are, or the drivers’ personal cars when they are at home. F1 fans want to know everything. The color of the underwear Max Verstappen was wearing today, who is dating whom… so it allows people to think that they will have this information on my Instagram or in my videos. »

« I now have 900,000 followers (Editor’s note: by combining social networks) and no one was doing what I do. They were all photographing cars on the track, which is, of course, F1 photography, but there are so many that I would never be the best car photographer. However, I have a good level of expertise in marketing through my experience. I have built businesses that have worked very well in Australia and I understand what people want and I give it to them. Maybe I was lucky to find a niche where no one was present yet. »

A financially difficult job.

If he acknowledges that he had good fortune, he also affirms that he doesn’t count his hours to succeed in living in this expensive world. If it hadn’t worked out, they wouldn’t have had much to lose anyway, but there is nobody who spends more time than me in the paddock. I am often there before everyone else and I often leave after everyone else. I am a freelancer, so I also have a lot of interest in doing my best to finance this activity that costs so much.

Kym Illman is passionate about his job and his presence in the paddock. It shows, and he doesn’t count his hours to get there. I sometimes work for a few drivers and commercial clients, I make videos on Youtube, I sell photo books, at each race; three hours after the race; a photo book is available. Nobody has ever done that. I also do presentations and sometimes have sponsors in my videos. My approach is really different from other photographers.

His goal this year is to evolve his YouTube channel in order to offer an even more immersive experience to his fans. « My growth this year will be on YouTube and I wouldn’t be surprised to reach 400,000 subscribers. I have another editor helping me and I am currently setting up a tool with artificial intelligence. What people want is “behind the scenes,” and they want to see it quickly. »

However, he confides an astonishing anecdote to us. « I don’t know anything about Formula 1, absolutely nothing. I’m not good with the technical stuff even though I’m learning as I go. So it’s not a big deal if I don’t talk about it. »

Find the complete interview with Kym Illman in a few days.