The photographers bringing LA heat to London cool: Introducing September Pictures
September Pictures are a mostly London-based, sometimes LA-based photography duo who oooooooze divine Californian chill into all of their work, wherever they are. Their background as music photographers has prepared them for wedding photography because - in their own words - everyone’s trying to have the day of their lives, a million wonderful things are happening at once, nothing runs perfectly on time and it usually ends with wild dancing. This means their shots are simultaneously full of energy and vibrancy whilst also being the perfect snapshot of time standing still. We are palpably thrilled at the prospect of having them on at our 2019 show and over the moon at the idea of you meeting them, irrevocably falling in love with them, and seeing the magic you end up creating. But before that - here’s a teaser…
A little about your business and you
We’re Rachel and Christopher, an English girl and an American boy with a little dual-citizen kiddo (her name’s Petra). We divide our time between London and Los Angeles, and we shoot nice things for good people.
The coolest/best moment of your career so far
The best moment is usually the last thing we shot, until the next one! But turning up at a very public engagement shoot to discover that our couple were the spectacularly glamorous ones in evening wear was a standout. (It didn't hurt that the light was sublime, too.)
Who or what inspires you
There are tons of photographers whose work inspires us, of course (Graciela Iturbide is one of our forever favourites) but the most interesting thing for us is the unexpected inspiration while we're shooting. It's usually something fleeting, like the gentleman sunbathing in a Speedo on a Shoreditch pavement in the middle of an Ace Hotel wedding. We couldn't have planned that – he was just there on the corner as the bridal party strolled by – and it summed up that day so well, at the height of the brutal heatwave.
What do you love most about your job?
Getting to hang out with people on one of the most fun/exciting/emotional days of their lives is pretty fascinating – everyone's family dynamic is a little bit different, the interactions between different groups of friends are interesting, and so on… if you're at all interested in people, wedding photography gives you an unusual level of access to observe strangers' lives. Plus, we often get to feel like we're not so much working for clients, but more collaborating with them, documenting their creativity.
What's the most curious thing about your business?
When we met, we were both music photographers. We'd been shooting music festivals for years before we shot our first wedding (our friends Sophia and Otto were getting married and didn’t want "wedding photographers", so they hired us instead). Our years on festival duty were good training for shooting weddings; the two have lots in common, like… everyone’s trying to have the best day ever. And there are always a million things happening at once. Nothing ever runs on schedule, but it doesn’t matter! And they usually end with wild dancing. Basically, we shoot weddings like their festivals – you're the rock stars.
What's your top advice for couples getting married?
If you plan your photography right, you can get wondrous pictures that'll last forever (long after the hangovers have receded) and also have a fabulously enjoyable day. Definitely ask your photographers for scheduling tips – we can give you plenty of advice on how to make it easy, like figuring out daylight hours and how to schedule family group portraits without losing your mind.
Tickets are available now for our London show - 1st to the 3rd March 2019, in Shoreditch. Be there or be square (don’t be square, just come along)