A change from Newcastle Wedding Photography.

For Emerson Photography - a week visiting parents on the Isle of Skye - lovely!

Summer holidays are usually off the menu for wedding photographers but this year our little family managed to squeeze in a week on Skye, staying with my parents in Struan, where they run three cosy, self catering cottages above Loch Beag, bang in the middle of the island.

I've mentioned the importance of keeping fresh with photography skills on this blog before.  It's easy for wedding photographers to get in a rut, especially after a full season of busy north east weddings and portraiture sessions.  I see it every day on social media - photographers taking the same photos at the same venues, too busy to try a new angle.  Too worn down to attempt a fresh approach.  "If it's working, don't fix it" is all too often the mantra...  

This is precisely why it's absolutely essential to be a photographer and artist first and foremost and a wedding / portrait / kids / dog photographer second.  Getting out into a beautiful and fascinating landscape is an easy way to blow away the cobwebs, clear out the photographic routines, try heading out with just one prime lens...  Whatever floats your boat!  Lots of us rarely spend the same amount of time on our own family's photographs that we do on our clients' photos, so that's another great starting point for experimentation.

Trying new genres of photography, be it landscape, street, strobist or portraiture can only bring solid learning to your wedding photography work.  It's something I've always done ( I was a photographer decades before I set up as a professional wedding photographer ) and it's stood me in good stead.  I still love my cameras, my work and my hobby and this is bound to show in the work produced - every day really is a learning experience, even after all these years in business...

Mum has a new Siamese cat!  He's still a kitten but very leggy!  Normally, I just photograph dogs in the north east, so welcomed the opportunity to try a bit of feline photography!

That's our wee lad on the left with his cousins, enjoying a (very swift) sit down on the lawn of The Wee Tea Room and Photographic Gallery - well worth a visit for the cakes alone.  Mmm...

This one ( above ) is taken from just above my parents' self catering cottages in Bracadale,  Struan and shows Loch Beag and the slipway.

The landscape above, depicting The Cuillin Mountains taken near Sligichan, was actually the only trip I took purely for landscape work, complete with neutral density ( ND ) grads, polariser, tripod etc.  All the rest were just taken whilst walking around with the family, or on days out.

Above is the wonderful beach right in front of Glen Brittle campsite, which has to be up there in the top ten best beach campsites in the UK.  Also, the beach is perfect for toddlers as it is very long, the water is very shallow and it's easy to keep an eye on them!  And yes, that's the original Hairy Dog Kasper :-)

The next two photos ( below ) use a technique called narrow flash, which involves direct, unmodified on camera flash, with the head of the unit zoomed in to give a 'spotlight' effect.  I hadn't used it for years but given the brightness of the sun, it seemed like a good time to try it out again.  Very glad I did!

Very, very early in the morning ^^^^ - a quick landscape back on the mainland on the way home.  The two below were taken using my converted Nikon D70 infrared camera - I spent years shooting, processing and printing infrared film at home but the digital IR camera is just much easier to use...

And that was our trip to Skye - I don't doubt we'll be back soon - miss it again already!  If you're looking for an extraordinary documentary wedding photographer to make you the most beautiful photos at your wedding, please don't hesitate to get in touch through my site - documentary wedding photographer newcastle or just give me a call on 07866127732.