Struve Photography: Behind the scenes: scouting locations

Monday 30 April 2012

Behind the scenes: scouting locations

Sometimes, when I'm at wedding fairs, I get asked by brides (and grooms) to be whether I've shot at a particular location before. I understand that for many couples their ideal situation is to hire someone who knows a venue well. However the reality is that I have yet to photograph the same venue twice.

I think this is partly due to modern changes in attitude towards where you can get married. For one thing, the possible options of venues now are endless; where it used to be common to have a church wedding followed by a hotel for the reception, people are now getting married in lots of different locations, whether it's a hotels, castles, or breweries. It's a lovely aspect of the diverse nature of weddings, but obviously, it does mean that photographing a venue more than once is a little less likely. However, I do make sure I know what to expect at a new venue, by having a recce where possible beforehand.

One of my upcoming weddings this year, is taking place on the Cafe Barge in Tarbert. I've never shot a wedding there before, so as I try to do with all my locations, I went to visit with my camera in hand.

The purpose of the recce is so that I can start to see the details of a place, I can get a feel for the lighting conditions, and the space around me. For this particular trip, I ought to say thanks to my brother for accompanying me and doing the driving - sometimes I quite enjoy having some company on these day trips.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day - while West Lothian and the central belt were freezing cold, once we were over the Erskine Bridge, the weather began to improve.

The top of the barge was gorgeous - the benches were decorated with little plant pots, and there were plant pots and a coffee cup tucked into a lobster net. There were also flowers in the lifebelt. There were multicoloured lights as well, draped from the masthead. You may also notice I was slightly obsessed with photographing the pretty pink bicycle which had its basket filled with blossoms and lilies!

The Cafe Barge has been listed in the Independent's Top 50 best Wedding Venues. The barge is originally Dutch, and it's still got lots of little details hinting at it's Dutch background. Inside the barge was equally lovely - warm and snug, it serves as a cafe during the daytime with a rich menu of good Scottish food, with vegetarian and fish options.