‘In Bloom’ Walters Wardrobe at Ragley Hall

As a photographer, you should never get too comfortable. We all have a comfort zone with everything we do and wedding photographers are no different. My personal comfort zone is a front-lit, outdoor shoot with natural light. But in reality not all weddings are like this. The comfort zone is a wonderful place but nothing ever grows there, which is my I always take any opportunity to challenge myself and shoot something new.

I had been following Walters Wardrobe on Instagram for a while and eagerly awaiting their next shoot day.

When their organiser- the lovely Jen- announced the theme this time would be “In Bloom” I was so excited. Flowers galore- right up my street! So, without a moment’s hesitation, I booked my space.

Full-scale styled shoots are such a joy to photograph. It’s a very different feel to shooting a wedding; you’re not just in control of how you shoot, but of what you’re shooting as well. This freedom of creative input is very freeing and loads of fun!

These shoots are great too for any aspiring photographers out there. You aren’t dealing with the same time constraints or pressures of a wedding day so you can take your time to get the perfect shot. You also have a team of suppliers on-hand to move things and perfect them in order to get the best results!

We were split into 4 groups of 3 photographers. Each group then rotated with each of the models: Leela, Jaye, Lauren and Olivia. Working in such a small group size meant we all got a slot to work with each model alone.

After taking a tour of the beautiful Ragley Hall, we each had the opportunity to location scout with the venue host and decide where we would like to photograph the models. We were spoilt for choice. The venue is truly breathtaking with the most incredible details, hand painted murals, a library, gardens, a dining room, and the list goes on…

Usually I’m not a fan of dark rooms (that is to say, rooms that are dark, not ‘dark rooms’!) I’m more a fan of naturally bright and airy locations. So when I first saw ‘the red living room’ with its dark wall paper, my first instinct was to slink back to my comfort zone and move on. But in the spirit of pushing my boundaries, I chose that room as a shoot location and am really pleased with the results.

Rebecca Carpenter Photography