The Wedding Photography “Trend”
Stop and think for a moment. What does a wedding photography “trend” entail? A bunch of stock images pinned to a Pinterest Board? The current “Best of 2018” awardees on Junebug? The photo that made the cover of this month’s print issue of The Knot?
At its best, a wedding photography trend is a photograph one photographer staged or captured that a lot more photographers or couples decided they wanted to reproduce for themselves.
That, my friends, is the true heart of a wedding photography trend – imitation.
Tell me then, why would you want to replicate someone else’s moment on a day you have strived to make so uniquely your own?
A confession for you: I do not follow other wedding photographers’ blogs or websites or Instagram accounts. I don’t check out the featured weddings on The Knot or even Offbeat Bride. I use Pinterest to tag recipes I want to cook and to find inspiration to reorganize my apartment, but I don’t have a “wedding photo inspiration” board.
Why should I follow the work of other wedding photographers? I don’t want to deliver to you a handful of moments cherry-picked from other people’s weddings. I relish in being wholly present on your wedding day, capturing it as it unfolds naturally. I keep my ears open and people watch and stick myself in the middle of all the happenings so that you get the most genuine portrayal of YOUR wedding day.
I try to keep my staging and directing to a minimum at weddings (outside of the family formals, where I am a megaphone of commanding in a chaotic hour). For the most part, I just watch. And wait. You’re just as likely to get a photo of your bridesmaids doing a smell check before getting dressed as you are to get a photo of that cute flower girl sleeping on the couch or your drunk uncle shaking it on the dance floor.
I photograph your wedding for you. I have yet to enter any images into any contests. When you see my work in publications, it’s typically because the couple has submitted it. While I do curate a portfolio to post throughout the season, I’m not capturing your wedding moments for me – I’m capturing them for you. And – IMHO – aren’t those moments that you’ve created candidly, lived through, and committed to memory (or not, depending on how much tequila is involved) so much more meaningful to you than those you just staged for the sake of a snapshot?
So, tell me again, why are we following those wedding photography trends?
