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.

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.

Hairy Dog Photography!

Hairy Dog Photography is now officially up and running.  Thanks so much to all those who have volunteered their dogs for free lifestyle photo shoots - it really is very much appreciated.  The website is now online - please take a look if you get a free minute - it's here; specialist dog lifestyle photography

The aim is to provide a specialist dog / lifestyle portraiture service throughout the North East of England including Durham, Sunderland and Newcastle.

There is still time to book your pet in for a FREE portrait session including a free 10x8" print - no obligation to buy anything thereafter and absolutely no hard sell.  Why would I do this?  It's a very limited offer and will last only as long as it takes to put together a really lovely set of dog / lifestyle portraits to show customers.  So please don't sit on the fence - call me (Jamie) on ZERO7866127732 to get a slot in the diary.

Emerson Photography is entirely unaffected by all this doggy malarkey - weddings and regular portrait sessions will carry on as usual
:-)

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.

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!