Jeff Ascough isn’t actually a wedding photographer; he is a master of visual narrative who photographs weddings and the whole world around him. With stunning black and white photographs that draw you in like the pages of a favorite book, he tells stories with his artwork that you can see and feel as if you were there.

We are delighted to promote Jeff and his work on WBWP and to recommend him to discerning couples who are serious about stunning documentary wedding photography. Scroll down to learn more about him and experience the way he sees the world.

Blair:

Hey Jeff, it is an honor for me to have an opportunity to spend time with you. I’ve been following your work for many years. I think there is something visceral about the way you shoot that keeps me staring at your pictures. So, putting you right on the spot, how do you think you achieve that look?

Jeff: 

Photography is my medium of self-expression. It doesn’t matter if I’m at a wedding, on a busy street, or on a lonely beach. What you see in my pictures is how I see the world based on my life experience, relationships, personality, physicality, and mood. I always tell my students that photography demands only one thing from you - to be yourself and take pictures in a way that feels right to you. The rest will take care of itself.

I’ve always tried to distance myself from the idea of being a ‘wedding photographer’ because I don’t see the world as a set of poses or a fashion shoot, which so many wedding photographs seem to be these days. This may sound a bit odd considering I trained initially as a studio portrait photographer and in the early 90s that meant learning to use light and how to pose the body. I was classically trained in a portrait studio but spent a great deal of time studying documentary photography. 

Blair:

Can you tell me more about that? Is that how you started your career in photography?

Jeff:

Yes, it all started in 1989 when I was 21. My dad was a university lecturer and coming up for early retirement. He had been a keen amateur photographer for as long as I can remember, and it was his dream to be a pro photographer. In anticipation of his retirement, he had started a small business and set up a studio only to be told that the university couldn’t afford his pension and he would have to continue working. Almost as a last resort, he asked me if I would be interested in becoming a photographer. At 21, everything in life is ridiculously exciting, and so I jumped at the chance. I got thrown in the deep end and learned to shoot portraits while processing both colour and black and white film, and running his business. Looking back, it was crazy, but I am grateful for all of that because along with the technical and business side of things, I learned classical lighting, camera position, and how the right camera angle can flatter the body. My first awards and qualifications were actually in studio portraiture. Not many people know that.

If anyone asks me what makes my work different from other documentary wedding photographers, I would say it’s the classical use of light and camera angles that I learned in a studio 30 years ago. 

In addition to working in the studio, I spent a couple days a week at college learning photography theory. It was there that I discovered the work of Don McCullin, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bill Brandt, and many others. I had goosebumps the first time I saw Cartier-Bresson’s work, and knew immediately that I wanted to be a documentary photographer.

When I started my own business in 1993, out of necessity I shot nothing but weddings, but the style at the time was killing me artistically. I felt I was shooting for money, and nothing else. One day in 1995, I came home from the third or fourth wedding of that weekend and decided I couldn’t do it anymore. My wife, Sarah, encouraged me to find my own path and take the photographs I always wanted to take. It was a big risk as we had started to make reasonable money, but I had to do it. I always saw the wedding as an event to be photographed, a day-in-the-life story in which I could incorporate my love of documentary, street, and landscape photography but with classical lighting at its heart. Above all, I felt that the posed style was not giving the client any insight into their day; it would date quickly and that didn’t sit well with me. 

Blair: 

Your work has been recognized by many of the world’s most famous editors and curators. What achievements are you most proud of, and what is the biggest compliment you’ve received as a photographer?

Jeff:

This is a difficult question because I’ve never been someone who set out to achieve anything, except maybe to make a living from photography. I’ve always gone with the flow. Photography is a lifelong journey which I’m just halfway through and I have no idea where it will take me. As such it’s hard to say what I have and haven’t achieved. I’ve just enjoyed whatever my photographic life has thrown at me. Having said this, my journey with photography has given me many moments I’ve been proud of. Perhaps the biggest is seeing Sarah turn into such an incredible photographer in just a few short years. I’ve always been her mentor and tutor, but her growth has been extraordinary. She has taught me so much more than I have ever taught her and I find the way she approaches photography so refreshing.

Blair:

Agreed! I am blown away by her work. It's wonderful.

Jeff:

As for compliments, I think when people tell me that I’ve inspired them to pick up a camera and shoot weddings, that’s pretty big. I guess to be an inspiration to someone has to mean something.

Blair:

What can a couple expect on their wedding day when they hire you?

110% professionalism. Absolutely. Nothing less. From how I dress to the way I behave to the pictures I give the clients. You’ll never hear me describe what I do as fun; I would find that incredibly disrespectful. Guests are there to have fun; I’m there to work and shoot their special day, and to give them authentic, artistic pictures which they will remember for the rest of their lives. I am totally unobtrusive, which means I don’t stage, set up, pose, or direct the photography. For me, as soon as the photographer gets involved with the pictures, they become the photographer’s vision of the event, which affects the authenticity and timelessness of the images. My skill set is based on being able to go to a wedding anywhere in the world and get great images without interfering. My clients often comment on how they can’t remember me being at the wedding. I take that as a huge compliment. I also pride myself on the consistency of my photography. I don’t shoot thousands of images, but what I do shoot is of an incredibly high standard from the first image to the last. 

Blair:

When you’re not behind the camera, what do you spend your time doing? 

Jeff:

There have always been two loves in my life, music and photography. I’ve played guitar since the early 1980s. I would describe myself as an enthusiast who makes a noise, rather than as a musician. Most of my life has either been music or photography. I also have a healthy interest in psychology and politics, but my first love will always be photography. We live 300 ft from a beach so a lot of free time is spent there, and now that my daughter has just finished her degree in Theatre, I’m creating all sorts of visual things for her. Creativity never stops in our house, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Blair:

I didn’t know that you play guitar. That’s a wonderful talent to have. As a musician, what other musicians have inspired you?

Jeff:

To even consider myself a musician is a huge stretch! Maybe I’m really just a guitar owner? I do get a lot of inspiration from music though. I’ve always been inspired by artists who aren’t afraid to change the rules of a genre, or who create something new. Jack White is a tremendous artist, and someone I would dearly love to meet and photograph. I adore Radiohead and it was a huge privilege to shoot Ed O’Brien’s wedding some years ago. Tom Morello from Rage Against The Machine is a fantastic musician, and so is Adam Jones from Tool who I’m starting to get into in a big way. Away from rock music, I’m a huge Ludovico Einaudi fan. His music is usually playing when I’m editing.

Blair: 

How about other photographers?

Jeff:

There are so many. As my visual literacy has grown, my tastes in photography have changed. Don McCullin’s landscapes and his documentary work in the north of England have always been hugely influential. Unbeknownst to me, McCullin’s pictures of Northern Ireland were on my wall as a young kid in the late ‘70s. They were on the record covers and posters of my favourite band. In 2012, I was lucky enough to be invited to spend a week with Don in France to teach him digital capture. Such an amazing, kind man. He’s been the one constant influence in my life.

Cartier-Bresson stoked my passion for form and composition, and I’ve often referenced him as a big influence, but today you are more likely to see me looking at the work of Daido Moriyama, Josef Koudelka, Ralph Gibson, William Klein, and Jeanloup Sieff.  

Blair: 

All distinctive black-and-white artists like yourself! Can you tell me what life is like for you right now during the COVID crisis?

Jeff:

When we first got locked down, it was life as normal. I work from my home, so nothing really changed. We don’t start shooting much until April because the weather is usually bad. As the weeks have gone on, I’ve been shooting a lot of personal work. The estuary and beach has been a constant source of comfort and photographs during this time. I've also been helping a lot of other photographers with their work and processing. That’s been incredibly rewarding. 

Blair: 

That is great to hear. Please take care and keep sending us your wonderful work. We’re always excited to share it!