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I had the absolute honor to be one of the judges for the latest round of images for Fearless Photographers, follow the link to see some amazing wedding photography .
It wasn’t easy, the quality of work was really good and choosing my favourites was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.
I really do think that Fearless Photographers represents the pinacle of modern wedding photography and I’m really proud to have some of my wedding images win a Fearless award
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GASP.
A family portrait? Showcased on a photographers blog? What is he thinking?
I know, I know. I’m only supposed to show the cool/trendy/amazing pictures right?
Well what about the important ones? You know, the pictures that your grandkids will be looking at in 35 years. Why are photographers so afraid to show them?
Too many wedding photographers these days all seem to suffer through having to take the boring-old-stupid-family-photos instead of getting to do some cool mini fashion shoot with their clients out pretending to have a picnic.
In a field!!!!!!!!
With vintage bicycles!!!!!!!
And a balloon!!!!!
Whatever.
Some photographers these days are more excited about the venues they’re shooting at than the people their supposed to be photographing. Somewhere along the line people in this industry have forgotten that a wedding isn’t some giant, elaborate photo shoot set up to pad their portfolio.
A wedding is the first day of a new family. The very first day. The images I’m creating are going to be that new families first heirloom. It’s important. Not to just their clients, or even their clients friends and families. It’s important to the future generations not even born who might never meet some of the people in these photographs.
Not only do I not dread having to photograph the family portraits, I actually enjoy it. I get to see the family dynamics, the relationships and the smiles and laughter as a little mini family reunion happens right in front of me.
It only takes 20 minutes out of the day but one day those pictures will be priceless.
I’m going end my little rant by paraphrasing (and probably butchering it) one of my favourite people in photography, David A. Williams:
No one is truly gone until the very last photograph of them has crumbled and turned to dust.
Someone asked me the other day what my favourite photograph was.
To be honest, I hadn’t really thought about it. I have lots of favourite photographers… Eisenstaedt, Capa, Pete Turner, HCB… but one specific photograph?
That’s a lot tougher to answer. I spent some time going through some of my favourite books and online resources. On a side not, someone needs to create a ‘hot or not’ website for pictures.
Anyways, after giving it some thought one image kept popping up in my head.
This one.
It’s by Ernst Haas , a photographer I only discovered about a year ago but I’ve absolutely fell in love with this image and his work.
Of course, some are going to argue it’s not even a ‘good’ photograph as it breaks many of the so called rules to a good photograph… blurry, center composed, grainy… whatever.
To me, this photograph has a soul. It’s not some sterile, perfectly processed image that wins all the PPOC awards.
I can close my eyes and not just see this image but I can imagine the entire bullfight. I love how the red cape almost forms a perfect circle which was formed as the matador twirled the cape out of the bulls path. I love how his right leg is almost sharp, suggesting that it didn’t move for the length of the exposure even as the bull charged at him.
I’ve searched high and low on the internet for a copy of this photograph without success. I even bought an old copy of Italian photo book series because it featured Ernst Haas… of course this was the one image they ran across two pages. :)
So if I have any rich secret admires out there who have a couple grand to spare, you can make me very happy here. :)
This picture is absolutely, stunningly beautiful. The motion and the story are lovely. Great choice of a favorite photograph!
thanks! I guess I know my FB comments work too!
Yeah – awesome image. Someone once said a great image is one that creates a reaction in the viewer – whatever that reaction is. On top of that it should also tell a story. That’s really difficult to do in a single image. This does all that and more.
Beautiful photographs! Elsie and Jeff looked like movie stars all night. Elsie was absolutely stunning.
Had a blast today photographing TEDx Waterloo today!
As a huge TED fan, I was really excited when I got the email saying I’d be part of the photography team.
Here’s a few of my favourite pictures!
Fantastic mate!
Great post! I completely agree that family photos are of utmost importance on a wedding day.
That being said, don’t the photographers who do the photos with vintage bicycles and balloons in a field also make sure they take time for family portraits?
Great post. Although I’m not a wedding photographer, I completely agree that family portraits should be a part of a wedding and should be showcased! Thanks for sharing!
not always…we have heard some horror stories…some get to caught up in the artistic they forget about the main meat and potatoes of a wedding
@[508929700:2048:Steve Lee] Yikes!!!!
I really love that last quote so much. As a photographer who loves styled sessions and stylish weddings, I agree it is also soooo important to capture the familles as much as capturing special iconic images…@davidanthonywilliams…I loved what I have learned from you about making these portraits beautiful and visually engaging…great post.
Love this Scott!
Amazing. I love your perspective!
How true, Scott.
Dang right!
You need to teach me again. When are you coming back to Australia DW?
Great Post.
Completely agreed! Thanks for posting this
Not sure Myekal – depends if Canada decides to kick me oot!
I completely agree and always take the time to photograph my brides & grooms with their families. These photos are so important to have. Thanks for posting this!
you seem to have forgotten to wash this photo out with some kind of fancy action. where’s the yellow edges or the pee-pee color skintones?
great post.
I remember how we were running late and I said to skip the family portraits. You insisted and I’m soo glad you did! Those were absolutely crucial and our families loved them! Also, we made up for lost time and was able to get back on track.
Well said.
This reminds me of the “what’s your least favourite part of the wedding day to shoot” post I saw in a forum recently. I must admit that for me family portraits were up there as things I didn’t enjoy shooting… until I went a listened to Storey Wilkins and David Anthony Williams at their PPOC seminar last fall. What David had to say about family photographs really resonated with me. On top of the philosophy behind his thinking he also pointed out that family / group photographs don’t have to be staid – I blame my cruise ship training
that they can be photographically challenging and interesting really got me looking forward to the next family session. I’ll be posting some on the blog for sure.
Nice post. Love the David Williams quote!
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