My Richard Avedon-inspired portrait sessions have really started to spill into my wedding coverage. This is a shot that I really love, which would never have happened before I started doing that style of portrait session, where the interview process and verbal exchange is crucial to the success of the shot.
I'd reached a point where I felt comfortable that I had enough "bride getting hair done" shots, so I left my second to cover in case anything happened, and asked the mother of the bride to step outside with me for a moment. It was a nice partly-overcast day, but a bit brisk. Knowing I didn't have long, I chatted with Mom for a moment and then asked her:
"If you could have one wish for your daughter's marriage, what would it be."
She responded: "Only for her to be as happy as I've been."
This picture was taken just after her response, and just before the tears came. This image is not a "rockstar" shot with an amazing composition or elaborate lighting. This image matters to me, because I can see in this woman's eyes just how much she loves her daughter.
evan, we've talked about this shot in particular, but this is an example of taking shots for the client rather than for yourself (IMHO)-i love that you're taking your shots to a deeper and more intimate level of storytelling
nothing wrong with rockstar shots but there's a great deal of merit to this style as well-i hope this forum appreciates this style/aspect of photography as well!
great post Evan. thank you!
I've always been interested in truly learning how to work with a client to get these types of images. Are there any particular resources that you've found most helpful?
Candice KausHa wrote:
great post Evan. thank you!
I've always been interested in truly learning how to work with a client to get these types of images. Are there any particular resources that you've found most helpful?
Candice,
There really isn't a book or website that can TEACH this kind of thing, as its extremely personal, and your process will be different than mine or anyone else's. I can give you a more detailed explanation of my thought process moving towards this kind of shot:
Not long ago, I noticed that people (clients, other photographers, etc) started thinking of me as a "lighting guy." People identified the "Evan Baines look" as very stylized and heavily-lit. My concern was that my subjects were becoming almost interchangeable: the individuality and personality was getting lost in my efforts to make "impressive" photographs. About that time, I started studying the work of Richard Avedon, who was famous for (among other things) a very stripped down style of portraiture where he simplified his lighting and shot on white backgrounds, trying to focus entirely on his talent for pulling fundamental aspects of a person's character to the surface through his amazing ability to communicate with his subjects. As part of my studies, I started to practice a series of portraits where I allowed myself only one light and a reflector (purposely lighting only in a very simple butterfly or 45deg setup), and shot on a plain white background. I wanted to remove everything that I usually used to make a photo "good." By taking away everything photographically "cool" (composition, fancy lighting, elaborate posing) like Avedon did, its forced me to develop a manner of relating to my subjects: being able to communicate with them in such a way as to elicit some manner of "truth" in their expression. There's no real trick to this: just practice and empathy. The only resource I can recommend is to study the work of Richard Avedon, as he was the true master of this style.
Amazing as a picture, especially combined with that background story... but as the mother of bride wouldn't you feel as if you planned the sort of thing just to get a snap of her like that? I honestly would feel a little cheated, but that's just my opinion. Isn't it something that could have been done candidly? I guess it depends on how you view the photographer's role in the wedding.
If she loves it then all the power to you Evan, thanks for sharing
great post! A lot of emotion in the capture. Capturing the emotion is what it's all about. Not megapixels and all the other squawbles debated on here. Look at those eyes. There's a short story.
Howdy Evan. Much like Brian's question - what was her response to the image? How about the bride?
We know the back story - and I think it's a wonderful image - but without knowing about the question and the response - would it provoke the same emotional reaction from the posters here in the thread?
I'll politely disagree. If Evan just posted that image in the People section and asked for comments without providing any backstory... you would have honestly posted this comment?
............you're looking at the subject in a very broad sense with a very limited approach. The pupils caught me, and then the smile got me. There was no back-story needed. It's a great capture.
Now.............if you'd like to allude to a bit further that I'm full of shite..............we can continue with that. I think you might be surprised to know that I don't really comment on photos in here all that much. It's normally because I'm not that impressed/motivated to make a comment. So, for you to tell me what it is or isn't what I feel, seems a bit arrogant.
wonderful photograph! You can tell without reading the back story that there is deep emotion in that face. I LOVE that you are pushing yourself to try things like this! as we all should be doing, I would think.
"If you could have one wish for your daughter's marriage, what would it be."
She responded: "Only for her to be as happy as I've been."
This picture was taken just after her response, and just before the tears came.
Bride's response (note that she'd seen the pic before knowing the story):
"I read your blog and it made me cry! I loved that photo and it makes it so much more special knowing there is a story behind it. Just beautiful."
Not sure what mom thinks yet, but we developed a very nice relationship throughout the day and I'm very confident that she didn't mind. As far as the photographer's role, I don't think my manipulation was so extreme as, say, ripping the cigar out of Churchill's mouth or giving toys to tots and then taking them away to make them cry . I've simply evolved a portrait style that involves using questions to get my subjects in the right mindset. I didn't actually set out with a goal of making her cry, I just wanted her to be thinking of her daughter in a very intense sort of way. I could've (and did) seek out candids of mom as well, but there's an intimacy to this kind of portraiture that can't really be achieved voyeuristically: in this case my camera and I were hopefully able to become a kind of substitute for the bride: now mom will be giving that look directly to her daughter every time she looks through her wedding images.
Questions about whether the image would be as strong without the back-story are fascinating to me. One of my current theories about celebrity photography is that some of its power and popularity derives not just from our love of looking at famous people, but from the shared context in which we all can place the image. Annie Leibovitz's John & Yoko image is powerful on its own, but its power is inextricably linked to our knowledge that it was the last photo taken of them before he died. Avedon's forlorn Marilyn Monroe shot haunts us not just because we're Marilyn "fans," but because we all know what happens next.
Would HCB's image of an enraged woman in a crowd be QUITE so important if we didn't understand that she'd just recognized a Gestapo informer? Point being that there are some photos where an element of context is necessary in order to really appreciate them, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
One thing I've noticed is that everyone wants ot capture the fun and silly and laughing faces of the day - maybe the crying ones right before the walk down the aisle. But few of us have a strong desire ot try to capture the essence of our clients. I love the fact that Evan is putting more thought into wedding photography.
One thing I will note is that if Evan didn't understand lighting so well, this picture might not have been possible. You have to learn the basics to start to creat truly moving photos. I'm still learning the basics, but I look forward to the day when the basics come to me so naturally that I incorporate all that knowledge into a photgraph without even thinking about it --- knowing the basics helps you focus on the people.
. I've simply evolved a portrait style that involves using questions to get my subjects in the right mindset. I didn't actually set out with a goal of making her cry, I just wanted her to be thinking of her daughter in a very intense sort of way. I could've (and did) seek out candids of mom as well, but there's an intimacy to this kind of portraiture that can't really be achieved voyeuristically: in this case my camera and I were hopefully able to become a kind of substitute for the bride: now mom will be giving that look directly to her daughter every time she looks through her wedding images.