Hello I’m Jamie, I have the pleasure of being the photographer half of the Vickerstaff Photography partnership; I think I got the best part of the job there! Well Tory and I wanted to offer a ‘behind the scenes’…or Image for some of our favorite photographs taken over the past years. I will talk about what I was trying to capture i.e the narrative of the shot, the emotions behind the image, the technique used, what went in to taking it, and Tory will focus more on the viewer’s side of things; how it makes her feel, what stands out to her and so on. Sometimes we may add the same image without knowing…well she does tell me I need to work at communication; but this will give you an insight to both sides of the VP opinions! 
So here we go with this week’s set…enjoy. J
Becky & Guy
This image was taken earlier this year. It has made to it to my top 5 because it was such a great moment. (Watch this space for the full wedding, coming soon on the English Wedding blog!)
Becky and Guy had asked for a sun setting shot and had planned meticulously to be finished with their wedding breakfast with plenty of time spare for a shoot along the estuary. As with most weddings things ran over time and they had only just finished their main course when the light was running away and soon to pitch black; I voiced my concerns to Guy and in great form and eager spirit Becky and Guy got their wellies on and told the bridal party to do the same.
Mixing bridal party shots with Becky and Guy portraits we came to this spot. Originally just meant for a picture of Guy on his own foot up on a boat and standing tall; but the whole wedding party were up for climbing up the muddy hill. It’s because of clients like Becky and Guy and guests willing to do something just that little bit extra that give us these sort of photographs.
Kirsty
This photo of Kirsty always reminds me of when I first started to add that element of something different to what all other photographers were doing at the time.
So I love this photo. Kirsty and Rhodri knew from my excitement that I loved the picture. Taken over two years ago it was quite literally the very first photo I took with my, then new, off camera lighting system.
Now I’m sure as a bride or groom you don’t care about the lighting system etc that your photographer uses but it’s quite an important factor when looking at photographer’s work. We use varying set ups to offer something different and creative, and it’s that creative element that you need to be aware of.
So when I clicked the shutter looked at the back of my camera to make sure it had worked I saw something I hadn’t achieved before. I knew I would love this picture for a long long time.
Maria & Kevin
This shot of Maria and Kevin in the Great Hall at Peckforton castle just had to make it in my top 5. I chose this one as I am a story teller, weddings have thousands of moments which we capture to save as lasting memories. This one photo has such a great narrative I had to include it.
What first catches the eye is the two out of focus bridesmaids in red as they both; at the same time wipe the tears from their eyes. The viewer then tries to find the subject in focus; which is of course Maria looking truly and utterly happy as she says her vows to Kevin.
Finally the eye finishes the story by looking at Maria’s very proud and very happy father as he watches on as his daughter marries the man she loves.
This is what gets me out of bed in the morning, capturing these moments for our clients is what makes Tory and I believe we have the best job in the world. And we truly do.
Maxine & Richard
This photo is all about another moment captured. It’s a favorite because it was taken a number of years ago when I first started my own wedding photography service. Knowing that I was capturing these moments for my clients then was a great thrill and I wanted more!
We’re never satisfied, us wedding photographers, there’s always another moment, a new piece of equipment, a composition to try, a new location and new clients; so when I see this image again it always brings me back to that early time when I was wet behind the ears and makes me proud I was doing a good job for my clients even back then.
Richard is struggling to get the ring on Maxine’s finger, you can see the concentration on his face as he makes his umpteenth attempt and Maxine just let out this laugh and wonderful smile! I couldn’t help but smile back.
Taln
This photo of Taln has quite a soft spot for me. The amount of work that went into to taking it is quite unbelievable.
Taln and Richie married in a church outside of Chester and had their reception at the fantabulous venue; Rowton Hall. When we arrived at Rowton we had lots of time to wait for guests to arrive so we went for a wander to take some shots. Having shot at Rowton before I wanted to use this spot for a photo as I had never done so before.
The FIRST attempt (now keep in mind Rowton has no roads behind it, no car parks in the way…nothing but a beautiful garden) but we had a huge trailer situated just down the alley way to the left of Taln, which had wheel locks and no one could undo them. Not wanting to waist time we moved on, half way through the group shots we discovered one member (the best man) had driven another guest (an usher!) somewhere so the final shots had to be stopped until their return so off we went to do the shot, the trailer had been moved, this time right up to the gate! Again the trailer could not be moved for one reason or another so not to waist time we moved on; after the group shots we thought we would try again, this time to have a huge transit van…right where Taln is so after a few minutes we found the gardeners and….the driver had left and the van couldn’t be moved. Not wanting to waist time we moved on.
The fourth attempt resulted in this image, the setting spring sun giving a beautiful golden glow to the scene, using the off camera flash to add a little fill light to get rid of the shadows in Taln’s face and letting the setting sun behind her to give a natural glowing rim light. It felt like it had been destiny. A little persistence and a fantastic couple seeing the eagerness on my face resulted in a group effort getting the shot. Their joy when seeing the final photo and both their families and Taln and Richie’s appreciation made it all worth it. It just had to make it as one of my top 5 picks for this blog post.
Well I hope you’ve enjoyed reading a little of what goes behind an image and the thoughts of wedding photographer…which usually isn’t much more than the theme tune to the Magic Roundabout.
Jamie
PS. We’ll be back soon with another collection of images, but if you can’t wait until then pop on over to our blog.
