Recently I’ve been putting in more effort into my marketing campaigns. Working hard to put together a recent weddings section which will be up soon, a vendor referal program and a presentation DVD to send out to prospective customers. I had a great time and was priveliged to work with a wonderful production team.
Well, its back to business now, and it’s time to work on some recent weddings and prepare for the spring/summer wedding season. As I was putting together quite a concentrated amount of marketing and promotional material in a relatively short time, something occurred to me. One of the most common questions I’m asked by many of my customers is, What’s in style?
This seems a bit of an odd question, bearing in mind that the ishootweddings product is a timeless classic and one which you should be able to look at 20 years from now and not cringe. But I get asked this fairly regularly, not because they doubt the timeless appeal of an unposed black and white moment, but more because of the little details which are brought up in other photographers’ marketing material.
Customers often ask me whats most in at the moment? referring to double exposures where the bride and groom appear to float above the church or those hand-colored photographs where everything is in black and white except for the bouquet. I’m happy to hand-color a couple of photographs or even do a fantasy photo or two, but I always give the same answer: It doesn’t matter, your wedding photography should be classic and transcend style and time.
You don’t want to look at your wedding album 30 years from now and cringe as your photographs look dated. Good quality black and white and colour documentary shots that capture the emotion and tell the story of your wedding are classics that don’t date. If you think of any of the famous photos of the 20th century, they are timeless classics that capture a moment perfectly.
If you’re lucky enough to have your wedding shot by any of the great wedding photographers in the world, Martin Schembri, Joe Buissink, Denis Reggie, Yervant or any photographers who have developed their own classic style, don’t worry, your photographs will still stand the test of time, long after many of the photographers who pander to fashion are picking up their pension.
Remember, at the end of the day, it is about you. Your day, your photos. Your wedding photographs will still look wonderful 30 years down the line. OK, it may not have the latest trick photography or photoshop effect, but your son or nephew will one day open up that wedding album and be speechless at your wedding. How’s that for timeless?
So what’s in fashion? I promise you – going with classic documentary wedding photography means you no longer have to care.

This entry was posted Thursday, October 27th, 2005 at 10:49 am and is filed under Contains Images, Opinion, Photography.