I am a classic photographer, and will always be one. It is good today and will be great in years to come. Think about that the next time you do photos of your family, wedding. Do you want it to last, or just be the "style" for today.
Friday, July 23, 2010
As I look at other photographers work these days it looks like everyone is trying to make there own style, set them apart from the others. I see different photos that range from a bride, in her wedding dress climbing a brick wall to very static bride and groom standing, like they are getting a mug shot for jail or have just joined the army. What I find that I do not like about all this "finding your style" is are we doing a dis-service to the wedding couple? Are we giving the couple a "style" that in a few years (or months) will be out of style and will they look at them and go "what was I thinking or what was the photographer thinking?" Remember your senior photos from the 70s or 80s??? We all look back at our parents wedding photos, the great black and white classic photos that even today are what we all think are so great. So why is it that we must try this way of making us stand out? What is wrong with the classic style of photography? I must not be "hip".
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Randy, some of your thoughts echo mine only in the high school senior world. As you say, everyone seems to be out to see who can do the latest craziest things...each one trying to out do the last.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago I attended a convention and the speaker was touted by many as having such a wonderful trend setting style...well, all the images he presented looked gothic, dresses almost like the guys from Columbine with very dark expressions...technically they were great but images for a mother and father, well, I wouldn't want that kind of image of my son or daughter...
I like you am very classic in my photography approach...I do some fun things but still within the bounds of good taste...images, as you said, will last the test of time, never outdated.
I remember my dentist, of years ago, had an 8x10 of his three sons in one of his rooms...two sons had classic navy blazers on...the third had a Nehru jacket on which will forever date that image...never forgot that.
While lifestyles have changed (not many blazer and ties nowadays) one can still have a great classic image that will be timeless and, as the MC ad goes, priceless.
You took my and Wendy's wedding photos almost 30 years ago. We loved them and still do! The guy's polyester "semi-formal" tuxes (oxymoron?) and the girls in their frilly southern belle dresses and carrying parasols look REALLY dated - completely out of style. But the photos? Spot on.
ReplyDeleteYou weren't trying to erect a monument to yourself. Your goal was to faithfully record what happened on a very special day. That's what you did and we STILL appreciate it.
I'm not saying your photos lack style or are boring. Far from it. But your emphasis is on your subjects (who, by the way, are paying you to photograph them) rather than on making a name for yourself. You, ol' pard, have made a name for yourself by producing a consistently high quality product, much too rare in this "Wal-Mart, made in China" era.
By the way, in the wedding photos you did for us, in the midst of all the polyester and mustaches, my lovely young bride was just stunning. Thank you for capturing that on film. Remember film?
You took ours in 1982.... I still Love them. Your Wonderful! Thank You! ~ Susan & Jeff Whitehall
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