Staffordshire Countryside Engagement Shoot | Erika & Gabriel
Wandering Amongst English Heritage
Just recently I’ve been discovering the fine art of finding awesome Staffordshire engagement shoot locations. On a wedding day, I hardly control anything. I have some slight maneuverability with some timings but there is a lot already forged into stone. I often have to make the best out of every situation. With an engagement shoot, I have the challenge of forging my own conditions, then seeing the results of my hard pre-work within the photographs.
I don’t often like to take couples to the same areas as other couples for two reasons. The first is; I always want to be challenging my mind. There are so many situations on wedding days where I have to walk into an environment and conjure something from nothing. If I can try and trick my mind to do this on engagement shoots then I’m prepping my mind more for a wedding day scenario. The second reason is personal and selfish choice. I love discovering new places. Whether it’s on my doorstep or miles away. We live through experiences and there’s nothing like the buzz of a new experience.
Someone asked me at a wedding recently if I thought it was fake to have photographs in front of houses, monuments and gardens to which we had no real-world attachment. On the surface level, it may seem fake but I like to think of it almost as a grandeur example of how big your love is. Some of these structures and gardens are statements of engineering, architectural or landscaping feats. In a cheesy way, love is a greater feat. If you can’t wrap your mind around love though then they just provide a nice colour palette and add to an overall greater photograph. We could pile metaphor on metaphor here but I think it’s best left right here for you to ponder.
Finding My Locations in Staffordshire
As I photograph more and more Staffordshire engagement shoots it’s becoming harder and harder to cultivate a great location. There is no directory for these places and those which are well covered are just that. I want my work to be new and exciting for all.
I’ve been finding my recent locations mostly through the most oddball of google searches and ordinance map reviews. Often finding only single photographs online of structures or rolling countrysides with very vague direction and description. It’s incredibly hard to gain elevation perspective online so this is something which always comes as a surprise upon arrival.
Visiting these places for the first time becomes almost like a mini adventure to discover and tread new land.
Why I Chose this Location
Erika and Gabriel met on a cruise ship whilst working as an actor and a guitarist. Apart from their love of the art of performing they also love discovering new places and traveling as much as possible. I’ve known Gabriel for a while now and follow his experiences through what he shares online. His social media feed is a flurry of architectural and natural wonder. It can almost look a little disjointing as he visits new countries like a “normal” person who may visit the local park.
This structure which is the top of the old demolished Trentham Hall has been placed in this parkland in a very odd and bizarre way. I’m not entirely sure of the reasons behind such an installation other than preservation but it echos the disjointed look of Erika & Gabriel’s travels do to me at times. One minute they’re in a historic city, the next he’s climbing a mountain red route. Along with it being a local monument and a small drive from his childhood home it also reminds me of the European architecture which would have surrounded their relationship as it blossomed.