Blue Ridge Wedding Photography-Intimacy
Blue Ridge Wedding Photography-Intimacy One of the Pillars of Personalization
Blue Ridge Wedding Photography-Intimacy. For us, Intimacy in wedding photography is one of the pillars of personalizing the day for our clients. Of curse intimacy can have different meanings for different photographers.
For us the definitions vary. Let’s take a look…
For a ceremony shot like this many people would think intimate would not be a characteristic of what would be captured, but take a look at every single member of the bridal party. While this is a public ceremony it is also undoubtedly intimate.
Love the gorgeous venue above? Check out The Historic Tate House. You can see more of them HERE:
For the above image as the bride was completing her getting ready, her children came in to see her. The scene turned incredibly emotional but also intimate.
Just hands right? Hardly. The image above shows the bride and grooms first look after they clasped hands along with the tissues each had for wiping away their tears. A moment we categorize as both emotional and intimate.
The images above show a bride in reflection and in single, silent prayer before the ceremony, then being joined downstairs with a dear friend for a final prayer shared before the procession.
This image is from a post shoot with the bride and groom. I have worked with many photographers just getting started who have stated they simply don’t see how intimacy can be involved in a planned and post wedding shoot. If you have read our past blogs where we talk about connection with your clients it is in our opinion necessary to be allowed “in” for moments like this. Often those intimate moments are caught between directed posing.
Like the above image? You can check out the fine folks at The Gardens at Kennesaw Mountain HERE:
You can tell that we love moments such as prayer. Now let me stop here and clarify something. In our Super 1 day class we were asked once how, as Christians, we could shoot during the prayer? The answer is we actually pray with the group and simple take a few quick images as quietly as possible.
For a destination wedding it is hard to beat gorgeous historic Savannah. You can check them out HERE:
Te above image has been a favorite of ours for years. After the ceremony and the first dance the couple stepped out for a breather after a long destination wedding day. While vaguely aware of us following, they were quickly lost in the moment with each other. That brief beautiful moment certainly qualifies as intimate.
First dance images can offer intimacy, but your timing must be superb. This quiet, fleeting moment was in full view on the dance floor, but to capture it you had to feel it coming. I would point back to that most important client connection. You can see where we have spoken about this more HERE:
This last image was taken in the middle of the final getting ready moment between daughter and Mom. Their relationship was one that was preternaturally close. In the final moments the bride turned to her mom and was in tears and very emotional. It was a perfect intimate moment. One you felt blessed to be allowed to shoot.
In closing intimacy, along with emotion are a few of what we consider the pillars of quality wedding photography. We strive for images that stand the test of time and evoke not just what we all looked like, but what it FELT like.
We are John & Tamera Webb. We own and operate a wedding photography studio in Blue Ridge Georgia. We shoot with our hearts on the shutter, and it looks like this…
Blue Ridge Wedding Photography- Why Emotion is King
Blue Ridge Wedding Photography-Emotion. Why Emotion is King (for us)
Blue Ridge Wedding Photography Why Emotion is King. It seems to go together, does it not? Your shooting a wedding day. The day, this particular day, is full of emotion. With so much emotion going in it would be tough to miss it right? Actually you would be surprised how those key moments CAN get missed.Blue Ridge Wedding Photography- Why Emotion is King…and should be.
Listen we all have different styles and different approaches. It’s what makes the world go around. But there are times when the photographer or the couple do NOT want to be photographed showing emotion.
So what do you do with a client request like that?
We turn them down.
That’s right. We decline.
We feel so strongly about the importance of those unplanned burst of emotion we won’t document a day where we are told to avoid them.
I ran across this article a few days back. I could not agree more with one of the brides assessment of one of her images. “at first I hated those pictures of me crying, but now I treasure them.” — Katherine (and Sam)” Check it out below.
Best Wedding Moments
This all came to mind after a wedding we were guest at a good while back. We weren’t working it. When the bride made her entrance the groom was visible emotional. It was, to us, a beautiful and tender moment not to be missed.
But it was.
Now whether that was couple stipulated or the photographers style we can’t say. But what a shame that years into their future there won’t be any professional images to document such a huge moment.
Life is made up of a good deal of moments where we are so busy taking care of the business of living that emotional peaks are few and far between. But make no mistake those emotional peaks are the anchors that tie the rest together and make the living not only worthwhile, but cherished.
For us as professional wedding photographers we are documenting a day that is not only special, but sacred. Ensuring we are ready to capture key and peak moments will become a families treasured heirloom.
To be successful you will need to be in the moment, have incredible timing and let your heart hit the shutter.
We are John & Tamera Webb. We own and operate a professional wedding photography studio. We shoot with our hearts on the shutter. We tell stories of the heart.
And it looks like this.
Blue Ridge Wedding Photography-The Details with Heart
Blue Ridge Wedding Photography- The Details. Details with heart.
Blue Ridge Wedding Photography-The Details. Weddings are wonderful things. Full of emotion, heart and once in a lifetime moments. Wedding photographers are hired to capture that day and of course, the day includes the details.
If you peruse many featured on-line weddings you’d think the details were the stars front and center of their respective weddings. Image after image of the cake, the setups, the flowers and the rooms.
Flowers like these can be found with one of our favorite florist A Delicate Petal. You can check them out HERE:
And you know what? That is perfectly fine. It isn’t how we shoot details or how we choose to backdrop them. We have always taken the approach that wedding photography is like so many things, taste and preference drive it. Our choice in cars, clothes, homes, food and even friends is highly individualized. The same is true for wedding photography.
The weddings above were all shot in the downtown Marietta area. You can check out some of those spots like the fabulous Strand Theater . You can check them out HERE:
We also love the Marlow House. You can check them out HERE:
We love all the images above. At the very top is what would be mostly considered more standard detail shots. Even though the details are emphasized a few things become obvious. The images are carefully shot to make use of available light. The interplay between light and shadows creates the desired mood. You will also notice these images are not the bright (overly so in my opinion) overexposed images that have become quite popular.
In the second and third set of images you see more of what we strive for. These are details, but details with a human element. Showing the brides choice of veil or garter is still done, but done with the bride in the image.
Probably the best way to define our approach to details is that we shoot details with a human or mood element. We also take the approach that people trump things every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
We also love to show details that help tell the story. A great bottle of Champagne, a puppy saying happy wedding day or a necklace displayed far prettier around a brides neck than sitting on a table or in a box. Each image has the human element of the person or a unique story.
When choosing a wedding photographer we always state for the couple to ask to see a wedding from beginning to end. That includes the details and the approach to them.
We are John & Tamera Webb. We own and operate a wedding photography studio in Blue Ridge Georgia. We shoot with our hearts on the shutter and it looks like this.
Blue Ridge Wedding Photography Timing in Portraits & Client Connection
How timing and the client connection affects portraits
Blue Ridge Wedding Photography Timing in Portraits & Client Connection, How timing and the client connection affects portraits. Last week we discussed timing and the client connection. This week we are discussing how timing can affect client portraits.
In the days of photographers “silver” era, it was considered that a great portraitist captured not only the likeness but the character, personality, spirit and essence of their subject.
Like so many things lost in the digital era of photography, this skill and approach can still be valuable today.
When trying to find true photographers we strongly suggest starting a search at The Professional Photographers of America. As the world’s largest, non-profit trade association for professional photographers they offer terrific resources for couples searching for professional photographers. You can check them out HERE:
Instead of an endless seam of images shot in a second, a more deliberate approach that assess who our subjects are and the skills required to have that presented are needed.
In our Super 1 Day Classes one of the questions we hear the most is “how many images do you shoot in a wedding”? The short answer is, until we are done! While image number for us is connected to hours of coverage, in a 12-15 hour wedding day we may shoot an average of 1,500 images with delivery somewhere in the 500’s. The key is to capitalize on those moments and literally pounce on opportunities where your clients show their true soul. So then we are not “machine-gunning”our way to a wedding album or wall art, but are purposely awaiting key moments, expressions and interactions where our clients can see their true selves.
We live in an era where the historical legacy skills of a true photographer is largely lost. Where the skills earned by experience is not valued when weighed against so many photographers in the market place who offer cheaper and cheaper services. Photographic budgets can be easily made when the tool is valued more so than the artist. While the digital era combined with smartphone cameras and their continued improvement has made better images available to everyone, the true photographic craftsman is more and more difficult to find.
In closing, we advocate for experience, taking the time to get to know your clients, for shooting with a slower pace and with purposeful intent to show your clients their true nature.
We are John & Tamera Webb. We own and operate a wedding photography studio in Blue Ridge Georgia. We shoot with our hearts on the shutter, and it looks like this….
