"I am not a wedding photographer"

Yeh..this article was recently linked to on a post on here a few months back...the consensus of opion was...what a load of tosh..
 
Well, if it's been discussed to death previously, then I don't want to resurrect an old thread, but being in the creative industry myself (though not as a photographer) there is no doubt that when you're paid to do something then you have to compromise on your creativity at some point - or walk away from the jobs. You can advise and give the benefit of your experience, but ultimately, if someone's paying you to do something, they feel like they have a say in how it's done.

The caveat to that might be that if you're at the top of your game and people pay (and trust) you to deliver a very particular style and won't interfere with the creative process.

Lots of people do want something very different to the types of things their friends have - especially when it comes to weddings. how many people have you spoken to that won't hold their event at a particular location if they know someone that has also had their wedding there? Or go to the same places on hen/stag dos?
 
I like the photographs, they’re very much in the vein of street photographers like Winogrand or Meyerowitz - lots going on with narrative potential. Certainly makes a change from a lot of the stilted wedding photography I see these days.
 
@Kell as you say you're not a Wedding Photographer - if you were you'd know that MOST people shoot like this MOST of the time at a Wedding, capturing moments and using their own creativity ALL the time in choices of angles, focal length and DoF - let alone the PP afterwards

The 'stilted' @FruitFlakes is often the portfolio stuff as the more 'obvious' Wedding work gets more work that way, there are relatively few couples who really want reportage for the entire day, they certainly do exist as I know a few folk doing it that way and for big money too, but its uncommon

ALL couples book their tog for whatever it is they like about their work, not just the attention grabbing stuff, but the more usual and yes reportage stuff too; but many couples haven't a fking clue what to look for, so they DO ask for similar photos to their mates ones - I have one couple who's pal was married at a venue in the Lakes I shoot at a lot, they've booked the SAME venue and the SAME photographer (me) to shoot the SAME sort of things. the VAST majority of couples DO NOT want candids of folk eating, and even where you shoot it it NEVER goes into an album, just maybe swapped on Facebook for a laugh

And I'm quite annoyed with myself now for being drawn into a discussion based on s***e and driven by those who know NOTHING about what they're arguing over - so - I'm OUT

Have fun guys :D

Dave
 
Totally agree with Dave in the above comment. As a pro full time wedding photographer myself, the article is nothing more than 'click bait' and dare I say a marketing ploy to get the chap more work. Wedding Photography isn't the bottom rung as EVERY (decent) wedding photographer knows and whilst photography is only a part of the day (hearding people, being the nicest most polite person at the wedding, besides organising everyone) you don't have any luxury in picking your subject, your venue, (sometimes) the lighting. You work with what you've got in the time allocated with the couple who quite frankly most of the time are scared stiff of a camera and all the time you need to pull something out of the bag - now THAT'S being creative.

We all do the candids too, it's not now about traditional wedding photography, it's about capturing the day and the majority of couples who don't want a wedding photographer because they want 'just as it happens candid shots' actually when you speak to them DO want a wedding photographer. It takes a certain photographer to really do reportage well and having been full time in this industry for over 10 years can only think of a handful.

This is a review a couple left for me, which pretty much sums it up:
THE GREATEST; organiser, hair dresser, cufflink fastener, button hole attatcher, flowergirl entertainer, family gatherer, wedding compare, entertainer, shoe stealer . . . Oh and . . . The most awesome photographer ever.
Where would we have been without you at our wedding? To say that we are pleased with the photographs is an understatement.
But for everything else you did to make our day magical, we'll never be able to thank you enough.

Anyway the article had the desired effect, it's got people talking about him!
 
As I said in the original thread:

The 'art photography' world hasn't a clue what goes on outside its bubble, and if someone from inside the bubble shows something commonly done in the real world it gets accepted as ground-breaking. This work has been popping up on other 'art photography' and 'creative' sites recently because there's a book to sell and an exhibition at the Martin Parr Foundation (co-publisher of the book) coming up and there have been press releases send to such sites. https://www.martinparrfoundation.org/events/ian-weldon/

The "I am not a wedding photographer" tag is a marketing gimmick. Pure and simple.
 
The 'stilted' @FruitFlakes is often the portfolio stuff as the more 'obvious' Wedding work gets more work that way, there are relatively few couples who really want reportage for the entire day, they certainly do exist as I know a few folk doing it that way and for big money too, but its uncommon

I know, I've shot a few weddings before, and as you said work of a certain style leads to more work in that style (which is pretty much universal in the photo industry). But if I see another wedding set that's mostly bokeh + lifted/faded blacks it'll be too soon!

For what its worth the couples that approached me to shoot their weddings had only ever seen my street/fashion week work and they gave me free rein to do whatever I wanted.

And yes, I am aware that most wedding photographers do what Ian Weldon does for most of the day, but for some reason I just find those shots more interesting than most. It's my own taste in photos though, in my eye they remind me more of street photography than anything else.

It's worth to note the context in which these photographs are being put forward (an art book/monograph), because weddings are a really important part of our social culture, they're where we meet old friends from school/uni, where we make new friends, and if it's our own wedding it's where the various circles we've made in life come together in an Avengers Infinity War/Endgame like crossover event. There hasn't really been a photobook about weddings, so within a documentary context it fills a niche - whether its actually a good photobook remains to be seen since there's been a massive increase in photographers publishing monographs in recent years.
 
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I take the points.

We briefed our wedding photographer to do just that, walk about, behind the scenes get more 'reportagey' stuff. But I'd still argue that the limited shots I saw of this work went way-way further than that. Just when normal people say 'reportage' they probably mean 'not posed' rather than 'capture the chaos behind the scenes'.

FWIW, I've never seen any work - FB or otherwise - from any of the weddings I've been to that are as candid as the ones in the link. Not saying it doesn't happen, it's just maybe when people say that, they don't really mean it.

But, as you say, I don't know what I'm talking about from a photographer's POV.

And, by the way, I don't agree that wedding photography is the lowest form of whatever he said.

I know there was no one working harder on our wedding day than our photographer. Especially as it was pre-digital, and he had a book full of prints ready for the evening reception.
 
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I take the points.

We briefed our wedding photographer to do just that, walk about, behind the scenes get more 'reportagey' stuff. But I'd still argue that the limited shots I saw of this work went way-way further than that. Just when normal people say 'reportage' they probably mean 'not posed' rather than 'capture the chaos behind the scenes'.

FWIW, I've never seen any work - FB or otherwise - from any of the weddings I've been to that are as candid as the ones in the link. Not saying it doesn't happen, it's just maybe when people say that, they don't really mean it.

But, as you say, I don't know what I'm talking about from a photographer's POV.

And, by the way, I don't agree that wedding photography is the lowest form of whatever he said.

I know there was no one working harder on our wedding day than our photographer. Especially as it was pre-digital, and he had a book full of prints ready for the evening reception.

I guess I'm binning too much. The one with the untidy room I wouldn't have taken in the first place. The one in the bathroom / kitchen with the bride bent over I'd have gone for a better position, or, if time hadn't allowed as it's spontaneous probably wouldn't have shot it, or not put it in the final selection. Can't really see anyone putting a loo or fire extinguisher in their album to be honest, but if this is what passes for wedding photography now then I'm seriously out of touch and need to retire. I know my couples would say 'Can you photoshop them out'. lol. I'm sure my clients wouldn't be his clients though so fair play to him

There are amazing reportage wedding photographers, sorry, but in my opinion half of these with a few exceptions of course I'd say are nothing but average and not extraordinary 'moment' shots. Fair play again to him though, there is obviously a market that he's zoomed in on.
 
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I am not a wedding photographer. My lad recently got married in Austin Texas.

I just enjoyed the day (what a day it was!) . I did take a load of candid shots with a tz90 during the reception though. I suppose its easier when you dont have the responsibility of the "must have" shots but everybody on our WhatsApp group has asked from full res copies of mine though. Because they're different. Not better or a replacement, just different.
Heres one taken from 40 yds away when they were working with the pros on some sunset shots.
20190602181435-2784x2088small.JPG
 
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Does 'different' mean 'in focus'?

No. As I said. Hand held 40 yds away.
Thats the point. Technically imperfect. The most popular shot of all. Because the people who know them thought it captured "them".
 
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