I finally experienced the paparazzi way of life back in July. Pippa Middleton, the sister of Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, was in Glengarriff for a friend's wedding and as a news photographer, I just had to get the shots. There were lots of rumours as to where this wedding was taking place, with many people believing Bantry House was the venue. However, there was a music festival on with Bantry House being the main venue, so I know it wasn't going to take place there.
Calling the subject's name always helps to get a smile!
I received a phone call from the editor of the Southern Star at 14.50 telling me the wedding was starting at 15.30 in Glengarriff and to get down there. Of course, Glengarriff is 40 minutes away so by the time I arrived, the wedding was just about to start. I captured a few images of the bride as she arrived, but I was there for Pippa Middleton so a long wait ensued!
The bride, her father and sister enter the church.
I was expecting a ton of photographers to be there, but there were only 2 others - from the Irish Indo and the Daily Mail, so I knew I'd make some sales... When Pippa exited the church, the only sound which could be heard was the sound of shutters clicking like machine guns!
Just keep calling their names!
After a few minutes, the other photographers left to wire their pictures away, but I stayed hoping to get some exclusive shots - and I did! The wedding guests proceeded to walk up the road to the buses which were taking them to the reception venue, so I did a little walking backwards, calling Pippa's name and just pressing that shutter button.
It's important to get both portrait and landscape shots.
It was then time to get back to the office to process and caption the pictures before sending them away to the various agencies and publications.
What kind of reach have the pictures gained? Well, they went viral - national and international newspapers, Hello! magazine, local papers, and various sales through Alamy.com, including Germany, Spain and New Zealand. Photographers are always looking for 'the' shots, well I have them, and boy, does it feel good!