We work with some great people in this job and so we were delighted when they all agreed to take part in a bridal shoot at the hall.  We wanted to try out some ideas and to produce some fashion style images which we could then work into our “repertoire” for future weddings.  We’d picked up the bridal gowns from New Beginnings Bridalwear  and  the jewellery from J Herrons and Son over the weekend so that just left the flowers to collect from the amazing Flower Cabin early on Tuesday morning.  Anna, the model was booked, Ellingham Hall was booked, but at the last minute we found out that we were without a hair and make-up artist.  A lot of ringing around ensued and eventually on Bank Holiday Monday we were put in touch with Julie Ann Pattinson who agreed to help us out the next day.  And what a star she turned out to be.  Jenny at Ellingham Hall pretty much gave us the run of the place and she even worked around us when she was showing couples around the venue.  It’s got an amazing variety of settings and we really just scratched the surface.   Thanks Jenny.  All in all, Anna, Sheila, Julie and myself had a great day and look forward to the next time.

It was great to meet  the couple recently and we quickly established that Linda was a bubbly character who would be a lot of fun to work with.  Adam has his hands full in just trying to keep up with her!   Linda arrived at the civic centre in a friends VW camper-van and left with her new husband in his Porsche.  What style.  The party then went on to the fantastic Jesmond Dene House Hotel for the reception.  We had a little time with the couple  before their wedding breakfast and we were delighted when one of the guests staged an Iranian wedding using some of the guests as assistants.  Two weddings in one day!  That’s the way to do it.  Best wishes to the happy couple and we cant wait to show them their images when they get back from honeymoon.  Here’s a small sample.

Kenn Reay Photography. Wedding photography in Newcastle, Durham and Northumberland.  Lifestyle Portrait Photography in Newcastle, Durham and Northumberland

We hadn’t met either of them before but both admitted to feeling a bit nervous about the session.  Jill had won the shoot in a raffle in support of the Help for Heroes campaign.  We donate two shoots a year to charitable causes and it’s always a pleasure to give someone a special day.  We’re pretty relaxed people ourselves so it didn’t take too long before both Jill and Siobhan were actually looking forward to the shoot.  We started with a few shots around the house just to get warmed up and it quickly became clear that Siobhan was going to be a little star.  She settled into some relaxed shots very easily and once I’d shown her a few images on the back of the camera she was really up for the rest of the shoot.  We shot off to Plessey Woods and although it was fairly busy we managed to find some natural backgrounds which worked really well.  I really wanted to use some more urban backgrounds so we headed off to the coast.  Unfortunately, the clouds were gathering and the shots you see here on front of the beach huts were all we managed and these took all of five minutes.  That’s all we had before the thunder and lightening started.  And boy, did it start.  There wasn’t any option other than to run for the cars.  Never mind though, we’ve got some lovely images for Jill and here’s a few.

Kenn Reay Photography. Wedding Photography in Northumberland, Newcastle and Durham. Lifestyle Portraits in Northumberland

We first photographed Emilia about a year ago when she was a baby and we were really looking forward to seeing her.  As soon as she came back from the shops with Dad, her little face just lit up when she saw us and we knew she was going to be a joy.  We suggested a trip to Gibside Chapel grounds, near Newcastle, which Sheila and I have visited many times over the years and we just felt it would provide some great backgrounds for a family shoot.  It’s an 18th Century landscape garden on a huge scale with room to roam.  It was the first time that Jamie and Heidi had been there but I think it proved very popular and they’ve vowed to be regular visitors from now on.  Although we didn’t explore the grounds fully, Emilia is only 20 months old after-all, we covered the main avenue and spent some time around the refurbished Orangery.  We’ll leave the rest of the grounds for another day but wait until these folks have explored it themselves first so that they can take us to their favourite spots.  Emilia was a star and happily went through numerous changes of clothes without a whimper.  She’s pretty quick as well so you have to have eyes in the back of your head to keep up with her.  Hope you enjoy the images.

Kenn Reay Photography.  Wedding and Lifestyle Portrait Photography in The North East, Newcastle and Durham

It wasn’t really a tough decision.  Each of the girls are new to modelling so they wanted shots to get their portfolio started.  The location was the fantastic Cold Harbour Farm in Bishop Burton.  John Denton has his studio there and although I’ve been before, this was the first time that I’d had the chance to work one to one with each model in the various areas of the farm.  The girls were great and quickly realised that you have to be a little patient with a photographer who is setting up a shot which he has in his mind.  They were actually quite interested in what I was trying to get out of each shot or location so it was just a case of explaining each idea and how we were going to light it.  It’s amazing where the time goes when you are enjoying yourself and it was a shame to eventually wind things up but all good things have to come to an end.

Thanks to Lucy, Alex and Abbie for being such stars on the day.  Here’s a selection

What an amazing day and just fantastic to be part of it.

Lucy and Steve had planned their wedding to take place on Steve’s parents farm in deepest Northumberland.  It’s an amazing spot but very exposed so the weather was always going to be a gamble.  Although it threw everything at us, everyone had a great time.  Guests had come from all over the country(and Thailand!) and we’re brought en mass by buses from local towns and as far afield as Newcastle where they had stayed overnight.  Lucy herself had found an extremely remote cottage to stay in which almost fooled us and did flummox the make up artist but although timings were tight we managed to get the shots of Lucy and her bridesmaids just before rushing off to the church which was 30 minutes away.  By now, the rain had started but you couldn’t dampen anyone’s spirits, they were really up for a great day.  And so it was.

The only possibility to get a group shot was to get everyone into the barn (suitably decorated) and then stand on top of six bales of hay to gain some height,  Two flashes perched about ten feet up at the top of the light stands made for a valiant effort to fill the barn with light!  That done, it was off to the wedding breakfast in the marquee, complete with hog-roast,  and then finally into a ceilidh.  What a night!

With an early start at 9am, we weren’t sure how energetic the session would be but we really shouldn’t have had any reservations.  Gemma and Andy almost leapt out of their car and were bouncing about from the start.  You literally can feel the chemistry between these two and Saltwell Park is a favourite of theirs so where better to start with them.  It was a glorious day and they were quite keen to show us some of their favourite spots so it was lovely just to relax with them and find out a little more about them as a couple.  They were up for everything we suggested, but to be honest, they were easy to work with as you really don’t need to prompt them very much.  They just naturally fall into lovely holds and intimate little glances are the order of the day for these two.

They were also keen to visit the place where they first met, which is also the place Andy proposed to Gemma.  Cue the Theatre Royal, Newcastle.  What a pair of romantics they are.  Although their wedding isn’t until November, we cant wait to work again with them as we had a great time and we just know that their big day is going to be amazing.

I keep saying it but you have to keep perfecting your art and trying out new techniques.  Everybody else at the top of their game trains and practises in order to stay at the top so why should photography be any different.  Not every wedding takes place in a fairy tale setting so it’s important that you can adapt to make the very best use of what’s around you.  Believe me, we were working in a factory unit with fluorescent lighting and nothing in the way really of stylish backgrounds.  So it was all about making the best use of the light we had available.  We had a short while to simulate a pre-wedding shoot before our “Bride and Groom”, aka Viv and Gabriel, donned their wedding clobber.  The session was led by John Denton, a photographer we have worked with on numerous occasions and who’s style really encompasses everything that is best in contemporary wedding photography.   Never a dull moment when John’s in the chair and so it proved.  A great day and well worth taking the time out to attend.  One of my favourites is the last where Viv is looking up towards a fluorescent light.  She still looks stunning though!

We seem to have been waiting a long time for the weather to improve in the North East so when a family shoot came up, making use of the new leaves on the trees and the bluebells was too good a chance to miss.  Kelsea and Cameron were just happy to be running around in the woods, exploring as they went.  There’s something different around each bend so keeping them entertained was no problem.  Flowers to smell, rocks to clamber over, trees to climb, streams to cross - it doesn’t get much better than this when you are that age.   These places must seem enormous when you are small and I can remember visiting these same woods when I was their age.  No digital cameras on hand then though! 

Making use of backgrounds like these really lifts a family portrait session, so if you want us to capture your family in your favourite spots then just get in touch and we’ll be delighted to produce you a lovely set of images you can cherish for ever.