A year of documentary wedding photography in the North East

2012 was just a brilliant year for Emerson Photography.  I hear all the stories of bridezillas, awkward guests, broken cameras, torrential rain, etc, and just feel incredibly lucky!  It is 2013 this year though, so perhaps I shouldn't tempt fate!

Emerson Photography's brand of documentary wedding photography combined with dramatically lit wedding day portraiture seems to be going down well - fashion may finally have caught up with me (arrogant?  Moi?)!  There are plenty of photographers who are happy to take up a huge chunk of your day making your guests run around with bubbles / moustaches / wooden signs with cutesy messages, but it's just not for me, sorry.

I'd far rather record the event with a heartfelt and sympathetic eye, using experience to anticipate mini-stories and 'reading' the light to carefully position myself for the best possible photographs.  That's not to say I can't do a spot of guest arranging where required (I have a loud voice!) and I almost always try to take my brides and grooms away for a few posed shots.  It's often the first chance they've had to properly speak to each other on the day!

Natural light photographers have been very fashionable for the last few years; the idea being that refusing to use flash is somehow more pure.  It's certainly less obtrusive - as soon as a flash starts going off, everyone turns to look and starts smiling at the camera and giving it Fonzy thumbs-up.  The reality though, is that we live in the UK.  I shoot a lot of Winter weddings, often in castles or venues which are like coal cellars as soon as the sun starts sinking.  Until very recently, flash has been invaluable for the way I shoot.

Recent advances in technology though, have allowed us photographers to shoot in extremely low light, so the whole 'natural light' thing is finally becoming a reality.  My kit was upgraded at the end of 2012 - a brand new Nikon D600 along with a few new lenses.  I have never in my life been so astounded by new kit - almost literally like night and day.  I genuinely can't wait for this year's crop of weddings.  I'll still be using my flashguns, but it'll be for artistic effect rather than it being a necessity.

Anyway, here's a swift roundup of some of my favourite weddings of the year in slideshow form - enjoy, and all the best for the New Year!

Oh, and please, please press the HD button, bottom right or it'll look awful, thanks!

A year in documentary photography. from Jamie Emerson, Photographer. on Vimeo.

New Photography Studio in Newcastle

Just picked up the keys for my new studio in Heaton, Newcastle today.  Portraiture is about to become a much larger part of Emerson Photography.  It just seems to be a natural progression - I just can't wait to have a permanently set up lighting kit and backdrops!!  I will still be offering the whole, portable-studio-in-your-living-room experience, but I expect to be in the studio more often than not.

After a quick chat with the two photographers I'm sharing with (the always fabulous Mandy Charlton and Thomas Jackson who I've just met but who seems to be an all round decent chap!), I took off up the coast in high spirits and positively bounced up Druridge Bay with Kasper the hairy dog (and also the inspiration behind my bespoke dog portraiture business, Hairy Dog Photography).  A fantastic day for a dog walk - blowy, crisp, sunny.  The light was perfect too, and I was glad I'd taken a camera and a few prime lenses.  Taking photos of Kasper is the best kind of practice because he's fast, erratic and never does what he's expected to... 

Here are a few photos...

Lurcher running on Druridge Bay

Hairy Dog Photography near Newcastle

Photography of a white dog near Newcastle

Professional, specialist dog photographer, Newcastle

Photography by Jamie Emerson

Newcastle wedding photographer Jamie Emerson on a dog walk!

Christmassy Portraits with Amelie

North East Wedding and Portrait Photography

Portrait sessions with small children are so much fun - even for a grizzled old veteran like me!  I've shot so many in and around the North East over the years - my work has taken me all over Sunderland, Newcastle and Durham.  Kids are just lovely to work with - totally unpredictable.  It's why I almost always try to put aside at least an hour - a child can be screaming for Britain one minute, and taking a huge interest in a soapy bubble the next, all smiles and rosy cheeks!

So yesterday's was one of my favourite portrait shoots of the year.  Amelie was truly a joy to photograph - a couple of tantrums, but nothing serious and she more than made up for it by posing like a pro!

The photo above wasn't quite what we were looking for - the hope was that Amelie would wear her angel-wings and angelically sniff the roses - as you can see, she preferred to throw the roses on the ground - still works very well I think, and doesn't look at all posed (due to the fact that children won't pose unless they choose to!).  She did hold it out for me to look at though.....

We had an interesting time with a santa stocking full of shiny, red Christmas tree baubles.   Amelie was so taken with them that at least one bauble had to be present in every shot thereafter.  Photoshop's clone tool is our friend when it comes to shiny, red baubles.

Yay!  Christmassy stuff!!

The next few shots were an absolute hoot - Amelie's mum and dad brought out this fantastic little play tent which normally hangs over her bed - perhaps seeing it in an unexpected place caught her interest.  She certainly seemed happy to play with the netting for a good few shots.

 So, thankyou Amelie (and mum and dad!) for making my job an easy and pleasant one.

Lauren and Gav's wedding....

.....at the Old Hall in Washington, followed by the Chilton Club, somewhere between Durham and Sunderland....

Emerson Photography providing very stylish reportage wedding photography in the North East.  Please do visit my wedding photography gallery and do feel free to get in touch for an informal, friendly chat about your wedding plans!
 Another glorious day in the North East - perfect for a wedding.  Wedding photography provides the most amazing opportunities for creativity - the creative freedom is almost unparalelled and it's this flexibility which keeps me in love with my job!

When I arrived at Lauren's Mum's house on Friday morning I did briefly wonder if I had the right day - the sense of calm was a little unnerving!  Lauren was busy getting squeezed into her beautiful dress upstairs;



Bridal preparation photographs, Ashbrooke, Sunderland, by Emerson Photography


There were plenty of mirrors so I let my mirror fetish have free rein - it's not big or clever but I do like the effect!



Wedding photography in Sunderland by Emerson Photography.  Bride reflected in mirror with Champagne.




Bride reflected in mirror whilst preparing, but Jamie Emerson.


Fast forward to the ceremony at Washington Old Hall - this was a new venue to me and I truly hope I get back there soon.  Tardis-like, the hall looks quaint, small and olde worldy on the outside but the inside is pretty cavernous.  The interior is less than perfect from a photography point of view due to the tiny windows but the groomed, ornamental gardens more than make up for this.

Wedding photography at the Old Hall in Washington

Groom waiting for bride at Washington Old Hall on his wedding day.

Gav the groom and his two best men - looking very chipper chaps!

The ceremony involved lighting a candle with tapers.  Fortunately no accidents of the dripping hot wax kind occurred...

Photograph of wedding and candles at Washington Old Hall, Sunderland.

The group shots were fun - had someone had more than their fair share of champagne perhaps?

Relaxed, fun wedding photographs at The Old Hall, Washington, by Emerson Photography.

And after a suitable gap to allow for some mingling, I commandeered the happy couple for a few romantic shots - I really wanted to make the most of the fantastic gardens.  One off-camera strobe was used 'bare-bulb' - the sun was pretty harsh so my brolly stayed in its bag.

Summer wedding photography, Washington Old Hall gardens.

Again, just one off camera flashgun in the next two shots;

Strobist style, dramatic wedding portraiture in Sunderland, by Jamie Emerson.

Both Lauren and Gav were great sports and I shamelessly posed them all over the place - glad I bullied them now!  Couldn't resist the ivy in the shot below....

Ivy and bride at Washington Old Hall.

Running out of time now, so will fast forward again, all the way to the first dance.  Here were a couple who know the meaning of practice - what a first dance it was!  A few lessons had been taken here I suspect.  No let up for Lauren though as the DJ gave Dad little choice but to come up for a dance - he didn't seem to mind though!

A lovely day with a crowd of lovely people - so good to shoot a new, massively picturesque venue too!

Meg and Daz's London Festival Wedding

I'd awoken on Saturday morning, yawning and bleary at 6 a.m. All my gear was already packed (I'd been shooting a wedding the night before but had stayed up long enough to back it all up twice and clear the memory cards. Four and a half hours later I pulled up in a field a little West of London. I knew the wedding was a two day affair, in a field, with loads of Londoners but the first glimpse of the site put me more in mind of Glastonbury than a wedding.


 
So far so good - the weather was holding up nicely but the occasional gust of wind kept helpers busy replacing the Order of Service booklets...
 

The guests were many and varied - most had a tale or two to tell about the bride and groom and some brought props....

Children and dogs charged accross the fields with reckless abandon which all added to the atmosphere.  A proliferation of hairy lurchers made me think wistfully of Kasper (my hairy lurcher) probably still grumping in his bed at home.

All around were scenes of last minute preparations - I had a good old chat with an ex-neighbour of M &D who had kindly supplied and arranged the flowers.  The red carpet leading into the big top was lined with an amazing array of flowers and greenery.  And finally, the couple strode out with Mungo the dog.

Meg is an old schoolfriend of mine who has been through some incredibly hard times - the support for this couple was palpable throughout the ceremony.  Many (happy) tears were shed. 

After some amazing Ottolenghi-esquse food, the festival elements of the wedding kicked in.  Oompah Brass warmed up the (sizeable) crowd before very irreverent comedians Cardinal Burns, fresh as a pair of daisies from the Edinburgh Festival caused several humour-induced heart attacks (allegedly) amongst the guests.

Untitled #1

Time to light up the fire - the night was getting a wee bit chilly, even for Aberdonians.

The evening continued apace with music from recently formed band, Bay of Pigs.  These guys truly rocked, filling the dance floor and kicking Hell out of the PA system.  Both of Daz's best men are in the band - one on geeetar and one on bass (Rob on bass isn't keen on having his picture taken but I got a few sneaky ones which will be up on the website in a week or so).

The nuclear fireworks surprised everyone!

Time for a long postponed photoshoot - it had been a long and lovely day so didn't keep them away from their guests for too long.

Then straight into the first dance!

Photographer now, ahem, 'tired'.  The DJs were top notch and after an hour or so yakking to some lovely, characterful folk in between taking pics, I went off to my tent, stopping only to admire the coloured floodlights around the fields.  Roustabout Big Tops  had really gone to town prepping the site - the whole place looked and felt magical.

The next morning and the food kept coming - I met one of the best men on his way back to the tent with Untitled #2

Apparently, he had a sausage somewhere to complete the dish.  There were still some survivors sitting round the campfire, mostly crew members - stouthearted souls, kept afloat only by the grace of bloody mary and her reviving warmth.  Photos were taken, and swiftly deleted....

The planned BBQ was held up by a swift but saturating rain shower - no-one seemed to care as by now a pair of intriguing musicians had taken to the stage in the big top.  Kari Flo consisted of one part tabla player and one part vertical violin player.  Sublime sounds to wake up to on a Sunday.

To finish then, huge heartfelt thanks to Meg and Daz for asking me to shoot their one-of-a-kind wedding.  To be able to create that festival buzz amongst a group of friends from such a huge timeline and geographical space is something special - all the best!