What does a relationship look like, if you had to pick a single photo to illustrate yours?
I had to break the rules to get this shot of Charlie, the church rules that is. I think he’ll appreciate the memory more than the church lady appreciates me!
Just to be fair to Charlie, he’s not the weepy type - that was just his wedding after all! Apples were a part of their wedding theme and so I put a few in Charlie’s hands to help show their active and humorous side.
So that’s a quick look at a relationship within a few photos, I always try to grasp the multiple facets of your wedding and relationship in the photos.
Goodness sakes it was time for a haircut. And in a most urgent way, as I am traveling next week and need to make a good impression. The following photo shows the impression I was not intent on making!Continue Reading »
I listen to the Camera Position Podcast by Jeff Curto and thought listening to it and thinking it through would help all of you making decisions about what type of wedding photographer to hire.
“Why do most great pictures look un-contrived? The deception is necessary if the goal of art is to be reached. Only pictures that look as if they have been easily made can convincingly suggest that beauty is commonplace.“
This simple quote strikes to the heart of the struggle of ‘choosing a wedding photographer’ when the issues of budget and beauty, of posing and photojournalism collide in your mind.
I hope you enjoy the podcast and this bit of art theory and criticism as you contemplate your photography investment and how it might pay off for you in the future. I hope our pictures look easily made to your eye, because the beauty I see is all around me.
For us, beauty is not in the way your wrinkles can be erased out of the way, but how they can so easily be overlooked when the picture is of a genuine moment or thought - and thereby looks so easily made. While photojournalism is a good word for what we do, it’s become an overused catchphrase in the wedding industry - but an understanding that we strive to make our work as ‘un-contrived’ as possible every time we shoot is probably the best way to understand what we do. The most common, and the most satisfying complement we get from our photos is “it feels just like we were there!” And that complement may not be coming from someone who attended the wedding!
If you are considering spending 5-10,000 on wedding photography and are unsure of what style photographer you want to go with, maybe you should consider reading Robert Adams short collection of essays on Beauty in Photography to find your personal preference for beauty and meaning in photographs. Maybe you’ll even decide the most lasting perspective or approach for capturing your family memories. I would not wish for you to have a personal preference of ‘romanticism’, where you prefer imaginative poses or very stylized images, and hire someone who spends their time finding unique moments of personal interaction. I would equally regret for you to be enticed by overtly romanticized wedding photos and 10 years from your wedding regret that a more inclusive approach had been taken that captures how much your grandmother appreciated being a part of your wedding.
I intend for you creative blessing and peace in your choice,
I developed this multimedia presentation to share with all my clients where art comes from:
So do you know where the best art comes from now?
I didn’t include the story of Courtney and Charlie’s first date, but if you’d like to listen to it here:
…you can see how their engagement shoot reflected their first date and how tucker got included.
In case it’s not totally clear, the framed photos are the shadowbox that I made with Charlie’s input. The frame is antiqued barn wood, and it has a two inch deep sealed wooden shadow frame. The glass is painted from the inside to harmonize with the weathered edges of the photos and handmade paper in the backing. The photos are mounted on raw nails to avoid adhesives which lower the archival stability of the piece.
I look forward to blessing more and more of your lives with joy, strength, memories and moments
Liesl was picking up on the eyes that Christine was giving her man during cocktails. If you care for someone, you know their moods during a party, you keep your eye on them, maybe you give them ‘eyes’ across the room to spice it up, maybe you keep tabs on whether they’re ready to go, maybe it’s the simple things that really show love, and maybe it’s these deeper more sensitive details that you’ll be able to cherish from your wedding photos when you hire a careful and sensitive artist like Liesl. It’s not an earth shattering picture, but it’s one that shows what your real-ationship looks like.
Maybe we need to go to the extra effort of helping you illustrate your feelings for your spouse, by facilitating time for you to find that special spot of being held by the one you love. As we earn your trust, you can give yourself over while we are working with you - and the magic is made.
Sometimes the photographer has to be the ‘bad guy’ and ask you to have a moment to yourselves on your wedding day!
Tomorrow I’m off to shoot an engagement session, and am asking myself and my clients the same question “what does your relationship look like?”
You can answer in the comments if you like - or wait until we ask you when we shoot your engagement session.
