A Story of Inspiration with Louise of Taylor & Porter | Part 1

When I see Louise of Taylor & Porter's imagery, I immediately feel grounded. The composition, color, and depth that flows from each photograph is captivating. It brings me to think of life and stories- past and present, beauty, and emotion. To my not-so-surprise, those elements are all pieces of her inspiration.

I had the immense pleasure to interview Louise a few months ago. I was delighted by her words as I pictured the way she works in her craft. Louise, a photographer in England, is a secret history buff. She is continuously enamored with history, stories, and spaces. I believe this is evidently shown through her photographs, and I think you will not only hear it in her words- but see it in the images as you read on.

Photograph by Katie Grant Photography

Stephanie: Why has it stood out to you- your parents taking you to visit places?

Louise: I’m very thankful that my parents would take myself and my brother out and explore places together so often. My brother and I would play together and I imagined things that would play out in those places. I’ve always had a very active imagination and so visiting historical places felt like a treat as my imagination could run wild, imagining the lives that had played out there before.

Stephanie: What's one of your favorite places that you can remember visiting?

Louise: I think the one that directly relates to my work the most, probably, is a place in Northumberland, where I am from, called Belsay Hall. I regularly visited there from when I was tiny and essentially it is a Georgian Mansion that is no longer occupied; it hasn't been occupied for years, but it's been taken over by a trust that look after the place.  I remember we used to explore the gardens, when I was really little and they've got, I think, a 15 century castle ruins that my brother and I would play in, you know knights and dragons- things like that. So it was always romantic and fun, but the house itself is Georgian and it is just wonderful. There's no furniture in there, but the wallpaper was still on the walls in part and parts of it was faded and peeling off. The history, one could feel it; it’s so far in the past but at the same time it felt one could reach out and touch it. To think that someone lived their life in this room and now I’m stood in it - that was amazing to me. I remembered it was never very busy there so I used to spend time wandering between the rooms on my own sort of imagining who lived there and what it would have been like. There are a lot of historical homes that are being restored or preserved in a way that feels very museum-like and this place wasn't that at all. Looking at this faded wallpaper and seeing that the previous occupiers must have seen the same patterns but brighter, more colourful perhaps- one felt the passage of time strongly. It had aged in a way that was very natural, and that really resonated with me. I remember feeling like I need to somehow express the feeling of what I felt in this place, because it has such a powerful effect to me. Some work that I was fortunate enough to be commissioned to make for a stately home venue that is on my website; St. Giles House, well their space felt the same to me. I was very fortunate through that commission to make some work that felt a little like the emotion that I felt when I was exploring Belsay Hall so I suppose both  those places to me will always hold a hugely important place in my creative path. You absolutely cannot replicate that sort of environment nor can you hurry it along. It is a place that has taken 250 hundred years to look like that with unique beauty. Some people may say that it's broken, it needs to be addressed, or that it needs to be fixed, but I don't see it like that. I see it as imperfectly perfect and absolutely fascinating to me.

Stephanie: When you see a scene and it draws you in, what specifically speaks to you and draws you in?

Louise: The other career plan that I had when I was younger, was to be an Archeologist. I was obsessed with history and I wanted to be an Archeologist and specialize in Egyptology. I didn't obviously do that, but that sense of discovery is what I think I have in my work. When I visit a new place in particular, I am looking for those little aspects- the way that the light falls in a space and how can I use it, show the space, and enhance the feeling within it. How can I compose my images to show that feeling better? Where are the parts of that place that mean the most to me? It's like I am a creative archeologist- I am digging underneath things, looking around things, and I'm in a total zone when I'm in a new place. Sort of sensing things out, feeling it, and that is a very personal thing. You've got to look, to be quiet, and to explore the place, and I adore that, that is the bit, honestly, that I love in my job the most. I love the challenge- no, it's not a challenge, it's actually enjoyable to go and see what speaks to you in a place and try to make something that enhances that feeling. I then blend that feeling with someone's love story or a piece of fashion - whatever it might be to enhance both things at the same time. I’m always thinking, how do I best marry these things together to create something powerful?

Stephanie: How do you feel that this translates when you photograph people? It throws in another variable, and obviously every person is so different when they are in front of the camera- so how does this translate for you?

Louise: So I guess, I think for me, it's important to recognize, particularly with wedding couples that they made choices to be in that place. Understanding why they've chosen to be in that specific place is really important to me. Because one can then make it more relevant. They are excited about the same things that you are, probably. They've chosen me to come and capture it for them and they've chosen me to come and make memories in that space. And often, the places we're working in are a strong reflection of them already without them knowing it. I have a couple that I am shooting in Iceland, and when we got to the nitty-gritty talking about why we are going there- it said a lot about them. So yeah, couples bring the dynamic of a relationship and it’s fascinating to see how that plays out and what that place does to enhance that relationship. It's a layer on top. The environment provides a base aesthetic and feeling- so the more intricate and more subtle details of their relationship are then enhanced and showcased through that location. They need to work together and when it really resonates then it’s magical. 

Stephanie: You talk about your imagination and the way that you feel art; how it communicates to you. Is that something that you have felt that you've always had or feel like it has developed over time?

Louise: I think that it's something that I have always had without always feeling I had an outlet to express or join in the conversation myself. I think all art is conversation in various different forms and people are adding new ways for the conversation to continue. Communicating without words like whether it would be through music, dance, architecture, or photography. It's all communicating of sorts and I guess, to me, I was always listening, reading, and feeling a lot, and then my outlet to communicate with people became photography. I was listening first though. I have always been open to the subtle nuances of artistic conversation and I've always felt things strongly. I think I'm quite sensitive and emotional so I've always been in tune to what's going on around me. I feel things very deeply. I am just thankful that I have found a way that I can join in the wider artistic conversation.

Stephanie: For other creatives who don't feel as in tune to those things, do you feel like there are ways that they can develop or practice the feeling?

Louise: The ways that people can draw on inspiration are so varied and it feels like there are so many apparent quick roots to inspiration these days. Whether it's through something like Instagram or Pinterest that are very quick and direct ways to gain quick inspiration which is sometimes useful, but it’s definitely more useful pulling from ones own experience, whether it's taking oneself to a place, just sitting down to listen to some music, or reading a book, going to a gallery, watching a movie. Doing something that takes you into another world of communication. Those worlds are varied and available; inspiration doesn't have to be limited to a portal on your phone in an app. I believe that inspiration can come from absolutely anywhere and everyone has their own story and triggers. That is what's so brilliant; is that everybody has different paths in their lives and have been exposed to different sensory experiences. That is what is going to make them unique. And so it's thinking about what talks to you and listening to what your own senses are saying back. What talks to me? How does this make me feel? Do I feel like this is something that I want to show someone else? How can I show how this makes me feel? It's along with that cheesy expression about following your heart, but your heart is kind of leading in the right direction a lot of the time. Anything that excites you, excites the imagination and makes you want to be more curious is the right route. Whatever that thing is. It is a very open thing, and that is brilliant, that we can find inspiration anywhere. But yeah, it's about listening to what makes you feel happy and what makes you feel alive. Remaining curious and not looking for quick fixes. Knowing that you need to go and investigate, I suppose.

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Photographs by Taylor & Porter