During the late 1990’s and early 2000’s a popular style of photography emerged in the wedding genre. Initially it was known as “Trash the Dress,” however, to be more appealing it later became known as “Celebrate the Dress.” But, it was never about the dress!
“Thinking outside the box where there are absolutely no consequences to worry about, what would you most like to do on your wedding day if you could? What would that look like? Where would it be?” Thus began the questions. Only a few brides could actually open their minds to the possibilities. What visual image would most accurately state how you feel and what you want to remember for the rest of your life about the day you married the love of your life?
Sometimes these sessions involved only the bride, other times the groom took part – usually a small part. ver the decades I told more than a few grooms that “photographically, your only job is to make her look good.”
In this particular session I was able to get a wedding dress and a model to create some sample images for my studio at that time.
Honestly, the only uniqueness of these sessions was the attire. Why? A good portrait is never about what you look like. Great portraits are about how you feel and what you want to remember about of the occasion.
Two quick examples of portraits where this took place. The first was an engagement session and when asked about special times they enjoyed they told me about having early morning coffee while sitting on the dock at the cottage and watching the mist come off the water as the sun rose over the horizon. The result was a 4 in the morning meeting at Rockwood Conservation area and a treacherous hike in the dark to the rocky water’s edge where we sat, wearing coats and mitts and watched the early morning glow develop in the eastern sky through the mist rising off the lake. The result was a 30 inch wall portrait that graced the entrance to their wedding reception. The second example was a couple I couldn’t help with their wedding photography because I was already booked. The mother of the bride suggested they get dressed up at another time and have me create a special portrait for them. They met me before sunrise, the day after their wedding. An image of them standing on a rock on the bank of the Grand River pleased them and earned me an award of merit in national competition.
A popular question I hear asked of famous photographers is “carefully compose or capture the feeling?” In event photography you often have to make that decision, but with careful planning, in portrait photography there is no reason you can’t have both.
