A Cumbria Photographer
Introducing Jaye Adams
Let’s start with all the juicy details.
Hi, my name is Jaye and I am a photographer from the Lake District and Cumbria.
That’s right. I use cameras, I do weddings and I have a name. Sometimes the name changes to “photographer lady” or “the photographer” but generally speaking calling out “Jaye” will get my attention. If you’re wondering, that is the exact same text that I used on the home page, which seems an appropriate way to start a page about me. At least I think it is.
A few years ago I wrote that my love of photography is driven by my own creativity and wanting to capture something special between perfect moments. I still stand by that but I also want it to be fun.
MY ORIGIN STORY BEGINS HERE
Like all superheroes, or villains if that’s your thing, I have an origin story and if it hadn’t been for that pesky spider bite…
Sorry, wrong person.
I’m supposed to be writing about myself aren’t I?
I grew up in West Cumbria only a stones throw from the western fells of the Lake District and the lakes of Crummock Water, Buttermere and Bassenthwaite. I learnt to sail on Bassenthwaite Lake and would go mountain biking on the surrounding fells.
As a young adult I was fortunate enough to work overseas and travel, and I have lived and worked in some of the UK’s biggest cities, but my love of the countryside has never left me. So when the opportunity arose to move back home in 2011, I jumped at the chance.
WHERE IT STARTED
When asked about how I got started in photography, or what piqued my interest to begin with, the most simple answer is people. When I was little I was given my first camera as a birthday present, a Kodak Pocket A1 camera. I took it everywhere with me. Photographing daffodils, dogs, my brothers and anything else I found interesting. I had to save enough pocket money to buy the 110 film cartridges the camera took and then pay for the photos to be processed. It was always exciting to receive the envelope containing the negatives and the the photographs, and looking through them for the first time.
A CHILDHOOD ANECDOTE
I can remember taking photos with my little Kodak Pocket A1 camera for a competition. The local fair was in town and there was a man selling balloons, surrounded by dozens of kids. The scene fascinated me and I bent down a little to photograph the balloon seller, framing his balloons in the sky. Which was probably the first time I thought about composition, without realising it at the time.
Other film cameras I have owned include a Kodak Disc camera and a Canon Ixus II APS camera. My first digital camera was a Canon Powershot S40. Things got a bit more serious after that..
For a long time photography was just a hobby and working as a photographer was never something that I had considered. Not until a career change in 2006 led to me working as a makeup artist and my first photoshoot. I was more interested in the way that the model posed and what the photographer was doing than the job I was there for. Suddenly my childhood hobby was now at the forefront of my mind.
People are interesting. The things people do are interesting. The way people look at each other, laugh, smile and cry is interesting. When you find something interesting all that you need to do is to grab your camera, check your composition and take the shot.
There is a beauty in a photograph being unique. A moment in time that can never be repeated. Something to be treasured, and to look back on in the years to come..
HOW I BECAME A WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
I continued to work as a makeup artist when I returned to Cumbria in 2011. This is also when I started to work more in photography, assisting and second shooting for other photographers. I photographed my first solo wedding in 2016, when a makeup client asked if I would also be interested in being her wedding photographer. At the beginning of 2018 I started Jaye-Peg Photography and my photography business really took off.
Fast forward, via one pandemic, to now and if I am at a wedding you will usually find me holding a camera, instead of a makeup brush. I still love makeup but I am now having so much more fun with photography and that’s where my passion now lies.
It’s not just weddings I photograph though, I also take on lifestyle and family photoshoots, proposal and engagement photoshoots, as well as commercial photography. I sometimes dabble in landscape photography too, after all in the Lake District it would be rude not to.
LET’S DISCUSS
5 THINGS ABOUT ME
01. RUNNING
Oh yes, I’m one of those! I love a good run, the longer the better. At the time of writing I have completed 2 marathons, umpteen half marathons and a gazillion 10ks and 5ks. Funnily enough, considering where I live, I prefer road running to the trails or fells.
02. THE DOG
A shared responsibility between my brother, my mum and me, which works well for us. A black labrador and I call him Digby Dogsnot, Diggles and The Poochmeister General but non of them are his real name. He is my world and loves him.
03. I USED TO WORK IN THEATRE
In the olden days, when everything was in black and white, I was a sound technician and I have worked as such on cruise ships, in the West End and also for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Sound to makeup to photography, not a bad working life is it?
04. ANIMAL RIGHTS AND ETHICS
I consider all things equal on this little blue rock that we live on. Life is precious and we should value all life equally, and be very respectful of the environment we live in, because once it’s gone we’re all goners.
05. My Inner Geek
I am a huge nerd and love all things sci-fi and fantasy with all that it encompasses. Personal favourites include Doctor Who (all in for Tom Baker and Liz Sladen), Star Wars (even the prequels), anything by the late great Douglas Adams and Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. Promise you won’t tell but I might also have one or two appropriately themed lego sets.
Lake District Wedding Photography
If you would like to see more of my Lake District wedding photography please head over to my social media channels and my blog. You will see photographs of recent weddings and events, and also family photoshoots and lifestyle photography. You can also click on the link to view the latest photos in my Wedding Photography Gallery.
