When modern wedding photography becomes same old wedding photography
Talking with a bride recently, and she’s telling me how she doesn’t like the “same old”, referring to what she’s seen as the typical wedding photography fare of bride-staring-at-her-hand type images that instantly speak of circa 1977-1982…
well, not that I disagree, but it made me think of a post I read wherein a newer “modern” wedding photographer (you’ve seen photographers classify themselves as “modern wedding and lifestyle photographers”, no? It’s the latest craze!) stated how she’s seen enough of yellowish tints on wedding images from these alleged “modern” wedding photographers, and I’ve read threads where others have said enough with brides and grooms leaping in mid air in front of distressed gasoline stations, enough of the “American Gothic” look of a stoic bride and groom standing stiffly apart from each other, each staring off into different directions, enough of over-saturated, over-processed images, enough of wedding shots flaring into the sun and enough of brides and grooms making goofy faces at each other thinking this is what convey their personalities.
Ha! It’s so hilarious how something so new can so quickly become something so “same old”.
The bigger problem is that just about every newer photographer (and some old dogs) on the scene tries to emulate this same stuff.
That’s when it becomes a parody of itself.
Dismissed from consideration is just plain good ol’ photography: The actual application of basic photographic principles.
That gives me all the more resolve to trust the adage “to thine own self be true”. And for me, that means doing what I want, rather than being pulled into imitating what’s trendy today. Oh sure, there are going to be influences, and that’s all great. Artists have always had influences down through the centuries. We all stand on the shoulders of giants. Yet it’s not about imitating others. It’s always been about evolving one’s own personal style.
For me, that leans toward artful. Guess it’s my fine art upbringing. It’s an influence.
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That’s a beautiful, timeless photo, for sure. And I agree with your musings, too. If photography is about creative self-expression and the collaboration between our personalities and those of our clients, then why does so much of it look the same? People short-change themselves when they copy others.