I was down at Kameraz this weekend to see Johannesburg legends, Pat Culverwell and Chris Moore’s photography demo. These two guys have been around since the 60′s shooting well over 7000 weddings in the last 50 years. Yes, I did say the last 50 years, I believe that Pat Culverwell is in his late 70′s now.
They still practice the art of wedding photography the way it was done years ago. Three lights, one behind the bride, one to the right and one pointing at the background. Highly styled and codified posing, hands should always be flat, men don’t tilt their heads and women cradle their flowers. It is the way I use to teach my students at Rhodes University and a style which is as valid today as it was 50 years ago.
This brings up the two schools of thought which seem to have arisen within the wedding photography fraternity. The Wedding Photojouranlism or Freestyle school of photography and the Traditional posed portraits. It is a different-strokes-for-different-folks scenario and some feel that the wedding photojournalism school is a fad that will pass (Quick historical note: Denis Reggie coined the term in the 1970′s) while others don’t think that traditional portraiture shows what happened on the day.
Personally, I practice a style that focuses on documenting the day and the atmosphere, rather than creating it with lights and posing. I want to see photographs of the rings being exchanged, the emotions between those inside the dressing room and the look on the groom’s face when he sees his bride for the first time. I believe that formal portraiture is very important, but I photograph these at the venue and use natural lighting to preserve the atmosphere. It is a style that’s not as technically perfect as the multiple lights and backdrops, but one which I believe reflects more of what happened on the day.
However, both Chris Moore and Pat Culverwell are masters of classical wedding photography, posed portraiture, charming, entertaining and if you are in the market for traditional posed photography I’d heartily recommend them.

pat culverwell, 

These images are protected by copyright, no use of any images shall be granted without the written permission from Dror Eyal Photography.

This entry was posted Sunday, October 2nd, 2005 at 10:31 am and is filed under Opinion.