bride with bouquet at wedding reception
It is important in photography, and in life, that you do not forget the details. Many times people are in such a rush to get something done that they end up missing so many important things. They have their eyes on the prize, the goal, and they neglect to concentrate along the path that gets them to that goal. I offer more insight into this idea in my posts ‘Slow Down and See‘ and ‘There Are Photographs All Around Us.’ Remember the ancient saying “It’s not the destination but the journey.” And part of the journey is taking in all those little things that non-photographers miss. We should notice light and shadow and shape and the way things fit together or contrast each other. The best training that you can get as a photographer is to train yourself to see. When I was in graduate school in San Francisco I was shocked one day when the head of the Fine Arts Department said to me that he thought that photographers had the best visual skills and saw the world better than any other type of artist. This came from a diehard, classically trained artist and teacher. Normally fine artists look down on the skills of photographers. But here was this prominent artist and academician praising the visual detail skills of photographers.
In the wedding photography business recording the details is very important. It is really an integral part of the contemporary wedding photogrpahy style. Clients are paying good money for all of those little details at their wedding, like place cards, flowers, decorations, etc, and we should record these beautifully for preservation. These small things are what helps make the event unique to those individuals. And seeing these details in artistic ways with nice lighting, shape, and composition, is the task of a good photographer. I really enjoy recording details at a wedding because I am drawn to the aesthetics of form and shape. As I have mentioned before on this blog, I am a bit of a formalist. You can read more about this style of photography in ‘Photography Movements – Formalism.’ Beyond the principles of formalism I really think that composition is a vital element to photography, along with light. So you do not want to neglect the details at a wedding or on any job. Students of mine know that when I have given them assignments, like photographing students for our college catalog, I tell them to also get some detail shots, some close ups, and some abstracts from the surrounds or the person. These all can make great graphic design elements and can be used as icons or screened back on a page or used as a textured backgrounds. If you don’t have these types of images you will be sorry and most people learn the hard way.
Since I custom design all of the wedding albums at Red Photo for our clients I am very conscious of these detail shots when I am photographing because I know how I can use those images later on. This is a form of previsualization, where you picture the final product before you start producing images so that you make sure that you get exactly what you intended to get. So look around. Really see your environment. And then record those great details. You will be happy that you did and so will your client.
Gary Miller
Houston Fine Art Wedding Photographer
Eye Candy and Brain Veggies
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