How Did You Get Into Shooting Weddings?
If you didn’t already know, our names are Ross & Ruth. We run Soul & Rise and have been capturing weddings under this name since 2014… (12 years ago at the time of writing this. Where has time gone?) We love meeting chilled couples and capturing their big day in our vibrant but laid-back, unobtrusive, unstaged style.
Something we get asked a lot is how we got into shooting weddings, so we thought we would take the time and answer. Keep reading to find out a little bit more about us and how Soul & Rise became what it is today!
We grew up about 7minutes walk from each other in Bangor, Co. Down but we didn’t actually meet until we were in our twenties. Ross had just moved back home from studying Cinema & Photography at the University of Leeds and was shooting a couple of music videos for Ruth’s brother Patrick. Patrick invited Ross to come to a gig he was playing that week in a local bar in Bangor (shout out Coyles) and Ruth was there. Ross went up to speak to Ruth who was studying Photography at the Art School in Belfast at the time and the rest is history.
By 2013 Ross had shot a handful of weddings under his own name. The first of which, the bride was the daughter of a family friend and we think Ross must have been the only person they knew with a camera. Ross had no real interest in shooting weddings until that point but he took real delight in being asked to capture such a special day for someone.
After that first couple showed their friends the video Ross shot for them, the bookings started rolling in, until in the summer of 2014, Ross felt able to drop some of his other video/photography work to shoot weddings full time under the new name Soul & Rise. The first official Soul & Rise couple was Tal & Natasha’s and their wedding in Hilden Brewery. We’re still friends with them today!
Unlike Ross, when Ruth graduated from her degree in photography she had no real desire to be self employed. She took a job at an art gallery in Holywood for a few years where she got to meet and work with artists, painters and designers from all over Ireland. This really sparked an interest in Ruth for local makers and products and so she went back on her word, leaving her job in the art gallery to set up her own product photography and lifestyle business called Native Ivy.
It took maybe another year or so for Ross to convince Ruth to shoot with him under Soul & Rise, but (obviously) she eventually took the plunge and joined him in Soul & Rise. It was about 2018/2019 that we started offering our two Combo Packages to couples for their wedding day and it really took off. The Combo packages which include us shooting both photography and video on the day have become our most popular offering, it turns out couples love the idea of one business that can do it all.
Over the years of shooting weddings together, we have learned exactly where to be and when to be there, how to stay out of each others shots and how to use our separate strengths and skills to capture the best possible imagery for each couple.
If you think we’d be a good fit to capture your wedding, please do get in touch. We’d love to hear from you!
As we mentioned above, we’ve been running Soul & Rise for 12 years. We now have two kids and can’t shoot as many weddings as we used to but that’s a good thing… It means that every wedding we say “yes” to, we make sure is extra special.
Don’t just take our word for it though, here’s what a few recent couples had to say…
Ricky & Jess
“Ross and Ruth were the perfect match for our day. We really wanted a lot of chilled out and in the moment memories. They captured amazing details, they were super organised and very chill even during the chaos of the final getting ready moments. We aren’t the most comfortable being centre stage so we’re very grateful for their help to put us at ease and get some amazing pictures. We can’t thank them enough for our pictures and videos to remind us of our favourite day”…
Aaron & Gemma
“Our wedding day would not have been the same without Ross & Ruth! We had done our research on photographers and videographers and Ross & Ruth delivered and exceeded our expectations. We knew that they knew their stuff and completely trusted them and you can see this in their amazing photography & videography. They are so calm and natural, this put us at ease and we forgot they were even at our venue at times. The best decision we ever made, was booking Soul & Rise. Thank you for the special memories you guys created, we cherish them.”
Rich & Megan
“Having seen examples of Ross and Ruth's work we knew the results of our photography and videography would be amazing but they genuinely exceeded even our already high expectations. They so carefully and considerately captured the feelings of the wedding day as well as showcasing both ourselves and our guests in our best lights (but still naturally). The quality of the imagery is incredible and testament to their attention to detail and experience of knowing how and when to get the perfect shots. Highly recommend them and will be enjoying our photos and videos for so many years to come.”
