I have mentioned the photojourn vs portraiture schools of photography argument many times on this blog. It took an odd twist the other day when I was reading an entry by a South African wedding photographer who specializes in posed portraits on the day. In this entry he mentioned that like the great wedding photographers he doesn’t wait for the magic to happen, he makes the magic happen. This made me pause for a minute. You dream about your wedding day for years, you plan it for months, carefully picking the decor, the entertainment, the venue, the dress. You stand there in front of God, your friends, and your new husband/wife. Endorphines are kicking through your body, a smile is plastered to your face, it is one of the happiest moments of your life … and your photographer is making the magic happen. Did I miss something here?

On another note, there are still a couple of minutes until my nightly dose of Grey’s Anatomy, I had a chance to look through the new issue of Bride’s Diary – the hardcover encyclopedia of South African bridal culture. They have a new feature where if a photographer takes out a half page ad, they get a half page of their favourite photo. If they take out a full page they get a full page etc. A very nice feature. However except that for a few notable exceptions (Mario Sales springs to mind – check this guy out) these favourite photographs looked like outtakes from a fashion shoot with someone modelling a white dress. It made me wonder, where are all the photos of the actual weddings? Why do all these wedding photographers who have paid 5 figures to appear in this mag feel that their favourite photographs are of a gorgeous looking bride smiling inanely at the camera? Is this really what you want to remember of your wedding day 20 years from now? The way you looked when the photographer said “say sex!”

Ok, V is putting the DVD in the player, so its almost time to post this entry, just one last thing. If you really just want some great portraits of you and your spouse, you don’t have to wait until your wedding day. Find a photographer you like and schedule a lifestyle session. A day spent in the company of a photographer as he takes image of you and your family just hanging, messing about, being yourselves. You can even get it bound into an coffee table album. Oh, one last thing, really the last thing, really just a quick disclaimer. I don’t advertise in The Bride’s Diary or any other magazine, not because I don’t think they’re effective, I just tend to work based on word of mouth.

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 Tuesday, March 6th, 2007 at 8:23 pm and is filed under Uncategorized.