Shutter Go Click Photography | A Year In Review 2021
i was PRESENT
2021 really has been a strange one. It’s been a struggle in a lot of ways. I’ve found it difficult mentally to get back in the same mindset business wise after the flaming turd that was 2020. With tons of postponements & weddings to do in the latter part of 2021. It meant like many others I was thrown back into what felt like a chaotic version of normality.
But that mindset wasn’t caused totally by a worldwide pandemic. It was created by focusing more on family, everything I’ve got right here in these walls. The birth of Casey in December 2020 was the beginnings of a change in me for the better. I see a lot of talk about self love everywhere online but I’ve never practised it. I’ve never allowed myself to step off the treadmill for a moment & slow down a bit. It’s not that I don’t have dreams & ambitions any more but more that I give less of a fuck. My dreams & ambitions were fulfilled when I met Paige & started my own little family. When I picked up a camera & made a living from what I love.
Yes, this year has seen me photograph more incredible weddings & families. From the bottom of my heart I will always be grateful to those who put their trust in me to bring their memories home. But 2021 was about more than that. I proposed to the love of my life, I watched my son take his first steps, I simply allowed myself to step away from thinking I was the absolute shit. Something all creatives need to do.
In fact this yearly retrospective is going to be a little shorter than in the past. (Not that you will notice) Not because I haven't got tons to talk about & show but because I'm allowing myself for once to think fuck it, that'll do. I will also be posting a separate look-back on the last 365 days I've spent documenting my little family on 35mm film. Something I'm planning to do every year from now on. For over a decade I have created a visual legacy for love struck humans & families everywhere. But it's in my own story & the stories of my loved ones that give me life.
In 2021 I was present. For my family & for myself.
& that’s just fucking brilliant.
BEFORE YOU READ ON. REWIND TO OTHER TIMES.
CHECK OUT SHUTTER GO CLICK PHOTOGRAPHY. A YEAR IN REVIEW 2020
WEDDINGS
I never take it for granted just how fortunate I am to have such wonderful people that put their trust in me to photograph their wedding days. 2021 started off with another landslide of postponements that pushed even into 2022. The first part of the year really felt like it was going to be a repeat of 2020. Thankfully that wasn't the case & by the middle of 2021 we kicked up a confetti laden storm of photographic awesomeness amidst Yorkshire & beyond.
After so many long days of feeling trapped in creative dormancy. I was kicked back out with the love struck & a camera in hand to bring your memories home. I've created some of my all time favourite work this year & I can't begin to tell you how happy that makes me. After a long time away from regular weddings a bit of the old imposter syndrome had reared its ugly head. But taking some time to reflect on my year in photographs as always is a cathartic & revelatory experience. It blows my mind that I still have the privilege to create a continually evolving & self fulfilling body of work year on year. Even more so that people pay me actual money to make what I want to make.
The main body of work I project in my portfolio & on social media are the elements of photography that excite me the most. Symmetry, reflections, in camera techniques like the use of prisms & double exposures. But this creative side of my imagery also serves as a gateway to something greater. The colourful confetti laden collision of emotion, laughter & all out frickin fun that make up your wedding day. If epic portraits are the spark that drew you to Shutter Go Click. Real connection & perfectly imperfect natural moments will be the fire that burns on.
THIS IS OUR 2021 IN WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY.
SEE MORE WEDDING PHOTOS!
SEE MY WEDDING PRICING!
MOVIES
It was in my 2019 Year in Review that I announced that Paige would be coming joining me at lot more at weddings to shoot video. In fact my precise words were:
"I’ve learnt how to not only let someone into my business but how to let myself be a better human being. We are each others business support. We are one another's number one fans. Any opportunity I have to be with Paige is just an absolute fucking privilege. No more no less."
Two years later & Paige has joined me on a heap of weddings & her video skills have genuinely lifted way beyond my expectations. Not that I expected her to be shit 😂 but 2019 was an entirely different year. Our son Casey wasn't even a twinkle in his dads eye & we were about to hit a worldwide pandemic. That didn't leave much time to really soak herself into a new skill.
But two years on & not only am I confident in her movies being an awesome add on to your photography with Shutter Go Click. But also a genuinely compelling reason to book us both together in the first place. I'm gonna hit you with a few short movies all shot & put together by my talented Paige.
THIS IS OUR 2021 IN WEDDING VIDEO.
FAMILIES & PORTRAITS
The last two years have been difficult for us all. A lot of families have been stuck indoors. Connections have been made. Connections have been lost. I've started to document my little family recently more than ever. Like many of you reading this, when I was a kid physical photographs were bound in leather albums, stacked in frayed cardboard boxes, dusted off & the memories ingested at life's most poignant of moments.
Our visual legacy can not be underestimated or under valued. These footprints that generations leave behind should not be left to skin softening filters & like counts. A memory like life is fleeting. Both ourselves & those around us grow older with every moment.
Photography to me is the preservation of the human spirit. Now more than ever that spirit should be embraced. 50 years from now there will be a box opened. Tiny hands hold. The creak of a books wisened spine groans amidst decades of dust & history. A smile. A tear. A memory relived.
"Oh we might do it next year" is an annual echo that I myself understand. Life gets in the way, time as they say is precious. It is only recently I truly embraced what it is to be the photographer in my family & friendship circles. Of course I always took photos. I'm the guy with the camera. Always. A lot can change in a year. It's been over a year since Casey was born. It takes me sitting back to look through the memories I've captured. Soaking in those moments in time to truly bring home the fleeting moments of change within my own family.
Some of my incredible couples & families can also see this change through my photography. There is no greater privilege than being the single person who has the responsibility of documenting those changes through my art. In some ways it makes me an extension of your own lives. Through my eyes & mind I provide the interpretation of your own reality.
Your reality is my art.
Memories don't last.
How will your story be told?
THIS IS OUR 2021 IN FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHY.
SEE MORE FAMILY & PORTRAIT PHOTOS!
SEE MY FAMILY & PORTRAIT PRICING!
WORKSHOPS & MENTORSHIPS
It’s about bloody time YES! Shutter Go… Workshops The Theory of Creativity is back & this time at a whole new venue, The incredible Tetley in Leeds on the 25.04.22. Where better to host you guys than in the city where I was born & bred. Last year I talked about how 2021 was to be the final time I'd be hosting a workshop at the Chimney House in Sheffield. I was so excited when The Tetley became the next glorious space for a day of creative education. There's still limited places left so hit the product below & EXPERIENCE. EVOLVE. ESCAPE. I can't wait to see you there!
LOCATION
The Tetley
Hunslet Road
Leeds
LS10 1JQ
DATE
25th April 2022
TIMINGS
9AM - 5PM
SPACES AVAILABLE
0 Left
WHO IT’S AIMED AT
This workshop is aimed at wedding photographers looking to build their creativity by learning new badass techniques & putting them into practise.
WHAT THIS INCLUDES
• 8 Hour creative wedding photography workshop with Ryan Learoyd aka Shutter Go Click Photography amidst the epic urban venue of The Tetley, Leeds.
• The theory of creativity, from pre wedding to post production. This section will be focused on how to react creatively within unconventionally beautiful environments. The use of prisms, ring of fire, double exposures & other tools to enhance & inspire the seemingly mundane. How to escape the box & shoot for yourself. How I use my business to project my creative voice & attract couples that trust & believe in my vision.
• The practicalities of pushing boundaries under pressure. This section will consist of a live couple photo session amidst the industrial setting of The Tetley in Leeds. Using the theories put into place in the previous section we will take to the streets & apply them to a real world situation. Prisms & other tools will be provided for experimentation (All you need is your camera!)
• Extending reality. In this final section of the workshop I will live edit the images from the practical section to show how creativity doesn't end when importing. I'll go through the post production workflow I use to edit photos & give you the confidence to think out of the box by delivering alternative edits to set you apart from the competition.
• Q & A. Your chance to ask me anything you like.
• Lunch & H2O is provided on the day, Tea & coffee is available to order at the bar.
T & C
• Sony cameras as of the time of writing do not come equipped with an in-camera double exposure function. Unfortunately because of this Sony users can’t take full advantage of this small part of the workshop. Apologies & here’s to future updates making it possible.
• Parking not included & must be paid for by the individual
• No refunds are offered but in the case of an inability to attend, Your place can be moved to another workshop date providing there are available spaces.
THIS IS MY LOVE LETTER TO LIFE
Remember those days as a kid when you would pull the dusty family photo albums from the shelf? Photography was a material thing. Something tangible. Something that meant more than phone screens, likes & shares. There's an irony that I'm writing about this on my blog. You're probably reading it on a phone. I've shot film for a long time on & off. But it was with the birth of my son & that soulful ache of new life that I felt the importance of documenting not just him but his world. My world. & all of the things that make it so.
Film for me is full of romanticism. It is perfectly imperfect just like life itself. This past year I have shot more personal work on film than I have on digital & that is testament to my love of the medium. Not only have I photographed using 35mm film & movies on Super 8 but I've also started home developing black & white myself. As I'm writing this today I'm about to get delivery of a Sous Vide so I can start doing colour film too. I won't say shooting film has brought back my love of photography as that has always existed no matter what tool I'm using for the job. What I will say however, is it has allowed me to separate my personal affinity with photography from my work affinity.
To celebrate that I started a new personal account on instagram aka ThisIsMyLoveLetterToLife. My body of work posted there as infrequently as it may be serves as a therapy of sorts. It allows me to celebrate that I am more than just a wedding photographer. My life is greater than work.
I'll be sharing a separate retrospective of my last 365 days as a dad, as a husband (to be 😱) as a family. As a celebration of my life every year from here on in.
Stay tuned for a "This is My Love Letter to Life Look Back On 2021" - Coming Soon.
WE GOT ENGAGED
I liked it so I put a ring on it. 2021 was a bloody good one. A year where I proposed to the love of my life. The strongest most inspirational & life affirming human I have ever met. I don't know if it's just me getting older or the fact I've started a family, but 2021 was a year of pure undiluted contentment.
Even when our kitchen roof collapsed & we spent six months living out of a shed on the drive. Even when the beginning of the year was met with yet more pandemic pandemonium. It was stressful but I could let it go. I've removed more negative infringements on my personal well being & that of my families the last 365 days than ever before. I'm more aware of my time & where focus should be placed.
I've signed off with the words “Long Live Shutter Go Click” the last 10 years of doing these retrospectives but for 2021 I'll say long live heart. Long live the human spirit. Long live the little things that make us form a warm smile that makes our eyes crease. Long live the loved ones that deserve & need our care. Long live capturing the moments that will not last forever. Long live love & the seconds, minutes, days & years that build you & shape your person to be better every single day.
