choose your wedding storyteller wisely!
In this blog post I want to talk to you about wedding storyteller
People often ask me what lifestyle photography is. I personally consider it as one of two main genres of portrait photography:
posed and lifestyle !
Portrait photography has come a long way in the past few decades. Many of us have formal, posed family portraits in our family photo albums. I remember how diligently my mother booked our family sessions at a photography studio in our neighborhood every year the way her mother used to do.
Even though I’ve never come across a bad family portrait, when I look at formal, posed photos, they all look the same with predictable poses, outfits, and backdrops and with everybody looking into the camera and smiling.
It is often the same with wedding photography. I have looked at my parents’ and aunts’ and uncles’ wedding photos over the years and the set-up is nearly the same: beautiful wedding portraits where the wedding party is carefully posed and looking directly into the camera.Wedding photography has become more challenging. It is not taking place in the studios; therefore, not all the factors are in control of the photographer. In fact, the artist must come up with strategies and plan accordingly for every set of pictures considering the weather is not always cooperative in the Chicago land area.
The best wedding photographers in Chicago are mostly storytellers. They know authenticity! They know when and where the pure moment happens and they prepare themselves for THE shot. The best professional wedding photographers have trained their eyes to see all the details happening between people. This is not something that one gains over the night by learning how a camera functions. This requires years of experience and passion for creating something everlasting.
For example, I know, by experience, when the bride is zipped up and fully ready, her mom, sister, or maid of honor would get emotional and beautiful, authentic interactions happen right there in the room. Or over the first look, the groom is dying to see her soon-to-be wife in her dress, and a close-up shot of his face or hands shows how nervous and excited he is and that is just beautiful. Goofy and silly moments while cutting the cake or the intimate, romantic moment of the bride and groom on their first dance is also priceless that a great professional photographer wouldn’t miss.
There are lots of momentous occasions and the role of the photographers is to tell each couple’s story through their lens. My goal, as a professional photographer is to artistically portray the interaction and emotions between people through candid shots. I strive to produce authentic photos that reveal the story behind each moment these days, wedding photography is a matter of WHY vs HOW!
Creating a beautiful picture with a special lighting effect and dramatic post-processing (HOW) is still good but answering the WHY, makes a picture more everlasting. Each wedding has its own story, and this has to be reflected in every shot. I don’t push the shutter if I don’t find a reason for it.
Photographing the bride’s feet in motion _blurry_ wearing an ugly pair of UGS, in the snow, simply tells the story of the moment: It snowed on their wedding day and the bride had to wear her comfy warm boots instead of her fancy, white, expensive high-heel shoes that she carefully chose after spending few days, if not months, browsing over hundreds of websites and stores to find THE shoes! Not to mention the pile of shoes waiting to be returned at home because they didn’t get enough votes but this beautiful fancy pair of high-heel was lucky to be chosen BUT, never had the chance to be worn! It is cold, and they had to run to avoid getting wet in the snow. Things didn’t go based on plan but they had fun. As simple as that! Showing all in one simple picture. Done!
Photographs are a special way to remember and relive your big day! When considering wedding photography, imagine how you would like your wedding photos to creatively tell your story.
Trust me, photographs are the only thing eternal from your big day!
There are a lot of great wedding photographers in Chicago, in fact, The most professional wedding photographers are in Chicago. You simply need to Choose Your wedding storyteller Wisely!
I put together a slide show of a series of self explanatory pictures that each reveals a story. It is really fun to watch! Let’s plan a zoom session and watch it together.
