CAMERA CLUB: Rachael​​​​​​​’s focus is on weddings

Rachael Fraser is that. Apart from her abilities with her camera she puts her wedding clients at ease with the essential wedding photographer’s ability of becoming unobtrusive.

“I am naturally quite shy and so I know how important it is to make the couple feel comfortable and relaxed so they can be themselves in front of the camera.”

Racheal’s unintrusive style creates natural-looking shots as she documents the wedding day’s story. She captures small moments and candid emotions when people might not even realise that the camera is on them.

We talked about how she got into photography. “My grandpa was a professional photographer, and my dad an avid amateur photographer, so I grew up around cameras and enjoyed taking photos. I had film cameras when I was younger, graduating to my first DSLR when my parents bought me one for Christmas when I was a teenager. From there the interest grew and after finishing university I decided to try and make a career out of what I loved.”

Shooting weddings is a big responsibility and requires strong business skills, so I wondered what drove Rachael to that branch of photography.

She told me she always loved taking photos of people, so it seemed the natural place to start when turning professional. “A friend who had recently started working as a second shooter for wedding photographers suggested I do the same to see if I liked it, which I did. I just loved photographing such a joyful occasion and being part of that big landmark in people’s lives. It’s incredibly special being welcomed into such an important day, and then documenting and sharing it with the couple.”

“I remember I once had a misconception of what wedding photography was, I just thought of the very stiff posed formal photos from the past .

"Then, one day, my friend showed me the Kitcheners, a husband-and-wife pair of wedding photographers, and I remember looking at their photos and thinking ‘Wow! That’s wedding photography?’. They took beautiful natural photos filled with emotion and detail.”Rachael shoots some super landscapes too. “In my spare time I have always done a lot of landscape and nature photography which I have started a separate website for.

"It has always been more of a hobby, documenting my life in Northumberland and the beautiful places that surround me, but over the years I have taken some photographs that I am proud of so I thought I would try sharing them!”

Rachael shoots with a Canon 5D Mark IV. Her wedding photography is at www.rachaelfraser.photography and her landscapes at northumberlandlandscapes.com.