What were you looking to achieve from your shoot with us?
Angie: We take lots of photos of our dog but none with all three of us together, so I wanted a family shot that captured how much fun life is with our 9 stone Bernese Mountain Dog and how much love she brought into our lives!
Neil: Totally agree with Angie, we have literally 100’s of Pepper photos (possibly 1000’s) but we wanted a photo showing us all together having fun.
Tell us about your relationship
Angie: Pepper’s ‘Gotcha Day’ was March 30th 2016 and we haven’t been the same since this bundle of energy joined our family. At nearly 18 months she is still growing and at 9 stone she is certainly a presence in our home! She loves company and as you saw from the shoot, she is not shy in front of a camera. I don’t think we have ever met a happier dog who has so much love to give! She’s a Bernese Mountain Dog who just loves cuddles and being with her humans and we wanted to celebrate this.
Steampunk; let’s go with the Wikipedia definition first : Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction or science fantasy that incorporates technology and aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery
Any clearer? Me neither. I wasn’t too sure when Neil came home from work and invited me to a Victorian weekend with new friends from work and said we needed to buy TopHats and Brass Googles, but off we went and we haven’t looked back since. Steampunk is Victorian Science Fiction, think of a world where electricity never came along, Jules Verne? 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and you are getting there. Really it is about whatever you want it to be, drinking tea (or tea dueling….), drinking gin (lots) or just sampling delicious cakes. One of the underlying principles of Steampunk is purely to BE SPLENDID and we think our portraits are definitely this.
Spending time at events, ((if you are interested Whitby (Steampunk Weekend) and Lincoln (The Asylum) are great ways to get involved)) meeting friends and new people, admiring builds, seeing the inventiveness of the Steampunk community and simply being splendid with the manners of Victorian England. Be careful though, it’s addictive and your spare room becomes a ManCave for new ideas and builds, your dad drops in with any old brass lamps that you jump at, your scour charity shops and vintage markets for best props, you’ll never look at nerf guns in the same way and your e-bay account goes wild and we have even bought a 3-D printer now for our prop making!
Had you ever done anything like this before?
As many of the events for Steampunk are in public domain in particular the August Bank Holiday Steampunk festival in Lincoln we are used to having our photographs taken both by on street photographers and tourists who stumbled across us, however having this experience in the studio with the quality of lighting, atmosphere was amazing. Having the photographer direct us for the best shots and looking through Chris’s creative styling was great and really contributed to some fantastic shots.
Why did you think that Bartley Studios would be right for you?
We seen them on Facebook and looked at their website, with all things sold on social media there is always a bit of scepticism however once I had spoken to Rosie and seen how genuinely interested they were in us as an ‘unusual couple’ I knew we would have a great experience.
What props and personal items did you bring and why?
Apart from the dog who comes everywhere with us, we brought a range of Steampunk props and also Dr Doom – I’ll let Neil finish this question……..
Neil: I think the number of props we brought to the shoot may have taken Chris by surprise! We took full outfits (long coats, corsets, top hats etc.,), props (guns, a steampunk Thors Hammer, a steampunk camera) and of course a cuddly toy for Pepper. The Steampunk Dr Doom alone filled 2 large carry-alls! We ran out of space in the car so had to leave some stuff at home 🙂
How did your photographer use your items to suit a style?
Chris dove into our kit and it was like a kid in a candy store! He was interested to know what everything did and what we would use it for, where if came from, how it was made and you could see his creative artistic mind in overdrive! He knew the props that would work under the camera and what he could use as a central piece, for example, I wasn’t sure if I was going to wear the large necklace but Chris knew he wanted it as part of the outfit and it really works as a key piece.
Were you worried about any parts of the session beforehand and if so what?
I think if anything it was how our dog would fit in, but the studio was really spacious with air conditioning and a good changing area space so there was plenty of room to move around and keep her occupied. Chris was really relaxed with her, even when she had he nose in things she shouldn’t have!
Tell us about the favourite parts of your experience and why you enjoyed them
I enjoyed my single shoot in my Steampunk outfit, I am probably more self-conscious than Neil and I don’t tend to like that many photographs of myself but I really, really like the shots that Chris has done. I also love the family ones of the three of us!
Neil: Yeah, not really that self conscious – really enjoyed the way Chris ran the shoot, friendly, professional and full of great ideas.
What advice do you have for other clients coming for a shoot with us?
Think about what you want to walk away with from the day and keep that in mind, dress in something that you are really comfortable with and just take the shoot with a fun experience in mind! Trust the photographers to do their work!
What was your favourite image overall?
There were so many to choose from, our dog is picture perfect on all of them! I love the video that the team put together giving an overview of the day (we have played it to all our family and friends and it is stunning!)
Neil: And I now can’t get the background song out of my head!
Are there any other comments that you would like to add?
Seriously good experience and epic photos.
Angie & Neil, thank you so much for your comments and for putting so much thought into your photoshoot. Chris and our team loved having you here and we are so pleased to have been able to create such unique images for you. Can’t wait to see them up on the wall!
Are you are interested in coming along for a Couple or/and Pet Photoshoot?
Perhaps you have a special birthday or anniversary coming up that you would like to celebrate? If so, then please take a look at the following pages…
Couples Photography at Bartley Studios