A Week with Dogs and Kids in Aberdeen

A week in Aberdeen with Finlay and dogs various...

Based as we are in north east England, it's a fairly easy drive either north or south to visit friends and relatives.  What's more, the scenery tends to get better the further we go in any direction.  This last week saw us tootling up the road to Aberdeen to visit Finlay's grandparents.  We also stopped off near Edinburgh on the way home to visit my Dad.  All of the above have dogs too, so plenty opportunities to practise kids' / dog photography.

It's many years since I grew up in Aberdeen, where much of my time was spent cycling and walking in Royal Deeside.  I had honestly forgotten how jaw-droppingly, achingly beautiful the local countryside could look with a splash of sunshine on the Autumn colours.  Needless to say, I hadn't taken so much as a tripod, let alone the filter kit, so landscapes are sadly lacking in the following set of photos.  Family stuff also tends not to mix well with landscape photography but I will be back!

Anyway, as mentioned above, there were plenty other subjects worthy of attention from the camera so as always, it came everywhere.  Having a two year old in need of constant entertainment means you do tend to get out and about more than you might otherwise.  We visited the beach, various parks, went on long dog walks, had lots of sessions at the swings and spent a fair bit of time at tearooms and even a petting zoo.

All these places and situations are lots of fun in themselves but they're also photo opportunities in my mind at least.  Working with a really minimal kit (one camera, one lens, one flashgun) is obviously a bit limiting but it's the only practical way to work when out on toddler-focussed expeditions.  All these photos were taken using a D600 and 35mm lens - some involved a spot of flash from my venerable SB-800.  

Huge discount on your North East Winter Wedding

25% Discount on North East Winter Weddings!

If you're looking to book a top end, documentary wedding photographer for your wedding in the very near future, do take a look at Emerson Photography.  Any weddings booked in for dates between now and April 2015 can enjoy a £300 reduction (over 25%!) on an eight hour package with all the beautifully finished photographs on a disc.  Incredibly simple, incredibly priced and you'll be working with a friendly, professional photographer who has been shooting weddings in the north east for almost ten years!

This offer is limited to the north east region of England, including Durham, Newcastle, Darlington, Middlesbrough and Northumberland.  Total price after discount will be just £880, which includes eight hours coverage (enough for a full day wedding) and all the full size images on disc, ready to print, copy and share.  Lots of weekday dates still available and some weekends too.

It's definitely that time of the year again - waking in the morning to atmospheric mistiness and fabulous colours just threatening to break out in the trees...  I do love Winter weddings in the north east - the very thought conjures up images of fur stoles and jackets, log fires, seasonal bouquets, warm inviting venues, ivy and berries, maybe even a touch of decorative snow!
Whatever the weather on your wedding day, it's still one of the most memorable days of your life and capturing it in a friendly, candid fashion is what I do best.  Enough waffle - here's a fairly random selection of wintery wedding images to get you in the mood.  All taken in the north east, bar one Scottish jaunt.
To hear more about this frankly, huge discount, please feel free to call Jamie on 07866127732 or email me at info@emersonphotography.co.uk  You can also get in touch through my wedding photography website or start by reading about what my clients have to say.

Candles really help add atmosphere to a winter wedding!

Warm, inviting colours at a north east wedding

Note the fur stole - no need to freeze!

Again, even little jackets keep you that much warmer!

Raining / sleeting outside?  Have your ceremony in a huge greenhouse - you even get flowers!

Hailstones again - we'll make this swift!

Even the dogs get a seasonal buttonhole...

Evergreens and berries make a beautiful bouquet at this time of year.

Rockliffe Hall, Darlington on a winter's evening

Less light often means more drama!

Seasonal sweet stuff for your guests always goes down well!

There's always a splash of colour if you look in the right place.

If we're lucky, we'll get some beautiful, low, winter sunshine.

Once it gets too cold, come inside, warm up and use the last of the winter sunshine.

Getting every last ounce of light from the watery winter sunshine...

Sparklers add a bit of welcome light and love on a dark winter's evening!

A Career in Photography

...  Is it a good idea to plan a career as a photographer, or more specifically as a wedding photographer?

Newcastle wedding photographer in Tuscany!  

This question has been running round my head for a few days.  One of my wife's friends is a career adviser.  I met him once in an Edinburgh pub and must have waxed lyrical about the ups and downs of being a full time professional photographer as he remembered me two years later and got in touch to ask what he should be telling his students about training as a photographer.  He tells me that there are increasing numbers of kids drawn to the idea of pursuing a photography career - no great surprise - if you keep half an eye on social media or follow any wedding blogs, you'd be forgiven for thinking that the job is SUPER EXCITING AWESOME UNICORNS RAINBOWS!!!!!1!!!11!!

And actually, it mostly is, once you've served your time; put in the hard work, developed your site and your blog, built up a solid client base, made your mistakes and learnt from them, carried on regardless, learning from the best and taking every opportunity to learn some more - I started with 'A' levels, went on to a degree course and continued with workshops and carrying bags for some of the best in the business - that was almost a decade ago now and I'm still learning.

Anyway, when the email from my career adviser friend pinged into my inbox, it had been a long day - I was tired after a very long drive and I bashed out this response in about ten minutes.  I may have been in a slightly jaded frame of mind but would be interested to read any comments from my photographer friends ( or anyone else! ).

"Hi Chris and please excuse my tardiness in replying - we have been enjoying a break at my parents' house on Skye.

I do remember most of that conversation, despite having had a few ales...  I fear I can only really talk about wedding photography with any degree of accuracy and these days, there really aren't any bars to entrance into the profession.  Were I to start again, I might consider an HND rather than a degree (shorter and more practical).  Most of the photographers local to me just picked up a camera and got on with it, for better or for worse!  I would most definitely consider a joint honours with some business admin content - it's about a 90% business to 10% taking photos ratio.

The advice I was given was to find a very specialist niche and become the go to person for that specialism.  I suspect this still rings true and I suspect the more boring the niche, the more work is available.  Wedding photography is seen as a 'soft' option sadly, as is portraiture.  That is, anyone can do it but not that many stick with it long enough to do it well.  For those who do, it really is a daily battle to stay under the noses of the target market - the competition are all doing exactly the same so taking time off from self-promotion (yuck!) is just not an option.  My specialism (other than weddings) was wind farm visual impact assessment photography but even this curious corner of the photography world is now over-run with those willing to work for expenses.  It's now dog photography ( www.hairydogphotography.co.uk ) which runs as a sideline to the wedding business but since starting that three years ago, at least four other clone businesses have sprung up within a 20 mile radius.

So, business skills, excellent social media skills, a willingness to adapt and where necessary, do the boring work and being a bit of a character are all helpful.  Being a good photographer helps but is genuinely less important.

All other areas of photography are seeing a similar decline - there are very, very few press photographers on the payroll as the major papers lay off staff and encourage the public to send in i-Phone photos.  There is most certainly still a demand for high quality imagery but numerous stock libraries are happy to sell contributors' images for a few dollars, whilst new photographers are often willing to work for free (in all disciplines) in order to build a portfolio.  Add to this the willingness of major brands to just pinch the photos they like from the internet and it all looks a bit bleak!

Crumbs, sorry, how depressing!  I suppose I would be very unwilling to suggest photography as a career, unless it was a very specialised skillset or a pre-defined career path, such as forensic photography.  It is still very possible to make a good living from photography but more than ever, it's not a career for those looking for wealth or glamour!

Must run as the wee fellow needs put to bed - hope that isn't all too depressing for words and at the end of the day, it's still a fantastic, rewarding job.

Jamie."


Since writing this email, I can't help feeling that it was perhaps a little negative.  Despite the slow times, the panicky times when the enquiries dry up, the months when bills are paid late, it's all worth it for the joy of sharing a couples' unique day - working so hard to produce the best possible set of photographs.  Pouring them into the computer and polishing them over the next few weeks - there are few better feelings in the world than looking at a set of wedding images which you just know the couple will love.  Not to mention their family and friends, for decades to come.

Do take two minutes to have a look through Emerson Photography's portfolio of north east wedding photography :-)

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.