When photographer-turned-author Julia Boggio, who is based in the UK, asked some of her old industry pals around the world to take pictures of themselves reading her new novel, Shooters (being described as a “sizzling romcom”) she was hoping they’d send back some nice images. The idea was to post all the images on her launch day, March 14, with the news that her book (the Kindle version) was on a one-day sale for 99 pence or cents (depending where you buy it). But with some of her pals being Jerry Ghionis, Kelly Brown, David Anthony Williams, and Damian McGillicuddy, just “nice” wasn’t going to cut it.

Zombies, sharks, dogs, and a moose made appearances in the photos. James Musselwhite even roped in WWE wrestler Nina Samuels. “I love wrestling. I loved Shooters.” he says. “Put them together and bam!”

So why did all these photographers with busy lives who run their own businesses go to such lengths? Scott Johnson, award-winning wedding photographer and Brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt, says: “Lockdowns and the global pandemic brought this already wonderful profession even closer than before, and when one of our own asks for help, then we are only too keen to oblige.”

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Sets were built; lights erected; props made. Costumes were assembled—or not, in the case of Jerry Ghionis, who is one of the inspirations behind Connor Knight, the heartthrob in Shooters. He snapped himself in bed with his wife, Melissa—except Melissa was more interested in her reading material than what was going on under the covers. “The idea was to keep our identities a mystery until you notice the photos of each of us on either side of the bed!”

 “I belly laughed when I received it,” says Boggio. “As we all know, Jerry is a master at coming up with concepts. I imagine they had a lot of fun making that image. It’s very much in the spirit of Shooters.”

Shooters is Boggio’s love letter to the photography industry as well as being a sexy and hilarious romcom about wedding photographers. As she recalls, “Once, I went to a wedding and was seated with the guests for the meal. The woman next to me said, ‘It must so easy being a wedding photographer. You only have to work one day a week’. This book is dedicated to people like her.”

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Well, actually, she adds, it’s dedicated to all the people who feel naked without their cameras. But when writing the book, Boggio worked hard to weave some empathy for wedding photographers into the story. “It’s a hard job. I was a wedding photographer for many years and it’s rewarding, but also demanding. They have to be on the ball all day with barely any breaks, while taking stunning photo after stunning photo. Guides for Brides says every bride should read this book and I agree.”

Sanjay Jogia, who is a Canon Ambassador and was named one of the top six wedding photographers in the world by Professional Photographer magazine, also took part. “I teamed up with newborn photographer Maggie Robinson to help with the vision for her shot. She wanted to be photographed on the wing of a Spitfire,” he says. They spent a whole day at Biggin Hill Airfield in the UK, playing with real vintage airplanes and having a ball. “I froze my t*ts off, but it was great fun,” Robinson admits.

Frequent bather and master photographer, Damian McGillicuddy, wanted to get involved because…well, because the author asked him to. “Julia is such a lovely and talented lady, I felt compelled to try and help her in her latest endeavor. As a senior figure in our industry, I thought I’d take the brave step of poking a little fun at myself while sharing something true, honest, and private. As an amputee, I find it therapeutic to take long hot baths—the perfect place to hide away with a great book. And Shooters is a great book.”

The idea for Shooters came to Boggio after having coffee with Sarah Edmunds at the SWPP photography conference in London, where she is launching her book. “I told her that I wanted to write romance novels about wedding photographers, and she said, ‘Oh! You want to be the Jilly Cooper of wedding photography!’ And just like that, a title, plot and characters popped into my head and I was off.”

Aside from the photographers mentioned above, others involved in this project include Steve Scalone, Martina Wärenfeldt (above), Melody Smith, Justine Ungaro, Mark Rossetto, Gurvir Johal, Giles Christopher, Damien Lovegrove, Neil Shearer, Keith White, Gary Hill, Amanda Carter, Selena Rollason, and Gary Hughes.

Not wanting to be left out, Boggio planned her own photo shoot and executed it with the help of Magdalena Sienicka, who says that, “Julia turned up at my studio with roller skates, a large balloon, and a beret. But that’s the sort of thing I’d expect from her.”

So why did Boggio ask for all these images? “I’m independently publishing my book and wanted to create a launch campaign with WOW factor,” she admits. On March 14, all the photographers will post the images on their social media, along with a link to the book and the news that the price for the digital copy is dropping to 99p for the day. “Our aim is to reach 550 sales in the UK to get me into the bestseller list. America is 5000, which would be great, but really hard to achieve for a no-name debut author like me. I’m really hoping the whole photography industry will support me in this. We’ll see. This campaign going viral is my best chance of achieving this goal.”

Here’s an excerpt to get you hooked (how many of you think the conference in the book was inspired by WPPI?!):

The photography conference simmered with talent: those who had it, those who wanted it, and those who would always suck no matter how hard they tried. Stella Price wondered where she fell on that scale.

Stella is determined to become a successful wedding photographer, even if it means learning from Connor Knight, a wedding shooter with sexy rock star status and an ego to match.

Burned by an affair that ended her last career, Stella should know better than to get entangled with Connor during a residential course in a romantic French chateau. But while his arrogance turns her off, his talent turns her on…

As their clashes start transforming into passion, Stella struggles to frame a future with a man who has famously come to distrust “happily ever afters”. Is there a softer side behind Connor’s macho image? Can Stella learn from her past mistakes and teach Connor about real love before he disappears from the picture?

Shooters is available to purchase on Amazon in paperback (which doesn’t count towards bestseller status) and Kindle (which does). The hashtags for the campaign are #romanceisforeveryone and #readingShooters.

You can purchase the book (Kindle or paperback) here.

Follow Boggio on social media: 

Twitter: @juliaboggio 

Facebook: Julia Boggio

TikTok: @juliaboggiowriter 

Instagram: @juliaboggio

Website: Julia Boggio  

Julia Boggio is a multi-award-winning ex-photographer, who became an original YouTube star when her first dance sparked a worldwide trend in choreographed first dances. She’s appeared on Richard & Judy; Sky, ITV and BBC news—and The Oprah Winfrey Show where she famously danced with Patrick Swayze. (And yes, there is a newsworthy first dance in the book!) You can check out Julia’s website here. She is also co-host of the book podcast, Two Lit Chicks.