What a pleasure and an honour to be be featuring this super talented photographer and super lovely lady today!
I met Katherine through Twitter and I have been bowled over by her kindness and generosity. She is a ray of sunshine who has supported me and Bridal Musings from the very beginning. Now I have the chance to support her and show you all just how wonderfully talented she is! Her photography is fresh, fun, vibrant and full of heart.
Name: Katherine Ashdown
Location/Coverage: Based in Norfolk shoot country and world wide
Describe yourself in 3 words: Driven, friendly, homebody
Describe your photography style in 3 words: Timeless, fun, vibrant
When did your love affair with photography begin?
When I was a child really. I remember being fascinated with photographs as young as 5-6 when my dad was a keen photographer. He used to shoot a lot on slide film in the 60’s and 70’s and I loved it when we had a ‘slide movie night!’ I started to take photography more seriously in 6th form when studying A level art and used to practice on my five nieces and nephews. When my sisters started showing other mums at school these fun and natural images of the children playing outside instead of in a studio on a mottled backdrop, it quickly grew in to a business. I was always amazed by the power or memory a single photograph can have, particularly when it comes to wedding photography and I think that is what I fell in love with.
What inspires you?
Two words – Old Stuff! I have always been inspired by anything with a history. At home this is an old mirror with mottled glass from an auction or a vintage teapot from Camden market. When it comes to photography this can be an old peeling painted door or an abandoned closed down diner at the side of the road. I can get so excited if I see an abandoned truck or closed down shop and then can’t get a location out of my mind until I have used it for a shoot!
What do you enjoy most about your job?
It is cheesy but I love ‘capturing a moment’ or I call it ‘capturing the magic’ It cannot really be explained but when you see it in an image you know it is there. It can be a look, a laugh, a shared joke or a more haunting atmosphere that an image can sometimes have. That is not just what I enjoy most about my job but it is why I do my job. I love to get home and sort through the images to find the ones where I have caught that magic. These are not always the technically most perfect shots or even the most commercial shots of the bunch but they are, without a doubt, always my favourite.
What is your favourite wedding moment to capture on camera?
I love the getting ready shots as this is such an exciting part of the day and to get that anticipation and excitement ooze through in the images is fantastic.
To be honest though this changes with every wedding and couple, sometimes it will be their emotional ceremony, the hilarious speeches, or stealing 20 mins away from the crowd for their couple shots. It often the moments that set one wedding apart from another that are my favourites.
What advice would you give to couples to help them to get the best from their wedding photography?
Have an engagement shoot! I offer this with all my packages but if your photographer doesn’t then try to book one with him/her separately. It makes such a huge difference to how you feel on the wedding day and your images, especially your couple shots and they will be all the better for it. It is also a great chance for you to get to know your photographer and how they work and for them to learn more about what you like and dislike when going through the engagement shots so that can be taken in to account on your wedding day.
What is your current wedding-related obsession?
History, I love it when a couple uses items from their past within the wedding. Old photographs of their parents wedding day, a second hand dress or tiara anything that has a story behind it. That said I am dying to shoot a wedding with the bride wearing Vivienne Westwood shoes with the hearts on the front!
Out of all the weddings you have photographed, which photo makes you go ‘Wow!’ every-time you see it?
This changes all the time but at the moment it is the one below. Her smile just makes me smile every time I see it!
That smile is so full of love!
Thank you so much to Katherine for sharing her inspiration, passion and drive for photography and her beautiful images here today. {Can you believe she set up her own photography business in her teens?!}. Couples who book Katherine are very lucky indeed as she so obviously cares deeply about capturing that ‘magic'. I have no doubt she'll make them feel at ease and have them giggling away with her sunny personality too!
To find out more about Katherine, visit her brand new {and gorgeous} website, and her blog which is regularly updated with useful features and all her latest photography.
